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One Great Dane
Sagan is our 41/2 yr old male Harlequin Great Dane. We rescued him when he was 10 mos. old. When we first got him he was totally flat footed, he looked like he had skis on. With exercise and good nutrition his feet became arched. He was doing well until he was about 4 yrs old when he started to lose all of the muscle tone in his hind end. We took him to our vet where we were told that he had spinal problems and that he would have to be on 4-6 10mg prednisone a day for the rest of his life. At that time he also started breaking out with large pus filled sores on his back and rear-end. The poor guy was a mess. We couldn’t seem to clear anything up.
On “Easter” 2005 Dr. Barb used acupuncture on Sagan for the first time. She gave us a special diet she designed just for him and we started him on Chinese herbs “Body sore” and Ligament/Tendon and vitamin E. Within a few weeks he was off the prednisone, the sores were almost gone and he was standing straight. He now has bright eyes, a shiny coat and his allergies are almost nonexistent. His acupuncture schedule is every 6-8 weeks.
Since then it has all been uphill. He is healthier than he was when we rescued him . He is not moody any more and he plays at the dog park like a puppy. We couldn’t be happier and neither could Sagan!
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Sagan before treatment
Sagan after therapy. Coming soon, Dr Truex shares her notes on the case.
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A Cinderella Story
I first met Cinder, an approximately 14 year old donkey, in 2004 during the winter months. She had been treated by a number of different veterinarians and farriers with modest results. When her owner scheduled the appointment Cinder was spending time lying down in her stall, she had several small bedsores and was very reluctant to walk. Following the first acupuncture appointment Cinder started to improve her walking. Her owners understood the importance of enrichment areas to keep their donkey motivated to move so we developed feeding stations to encourage her movement around her paddock. Her owners kept her barn heated so that the cold would not bother her as much.
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Cinder's owners have created an interesting environment to engage her.
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We worked together to develop a plan, the owners made a change to a Bare Foot Trimmer which improved her feet, a massage therapist to alleviate muscle soreness and the addition of Vitamin E and a good supplement to her diet. Cinder was diagnosed with Bony Bi syndrome and started on Herbs. As the months progressed so did Cinder and I began to see less and less of Cinder. As her owners saw her improve they started walking her daily. Cinder is a very happy donkey these days and will continue to improve with the outstanding care that her owners give her.
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The moral of this story, in my estimation, is that there are multiple approaches to medicine and if one modality doesn’t work trying another may be the answer. Additionally, I feel it is important to educate clients to help them make the decisions that work best for all parties involved.
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Cinder is a happier donkey these days.
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