robertwoodsdvm.com Blog

On Paws and Needles
By COURTNEY PERKES

Dr. Robert Woods, left, places acupuncture needles in Lady, a shepherd mix, owned by Betty Dodd, of Sun City, at the North Tustin Veterinary Clinic. Lady, who has cancer, gets acupuncture to help strengthen her immune system and improve her quality of life. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Daisy the 17-year-old cat meows incessantly when she sees the box, protesting another trip to the vet.

So when David Johnson’s wife suggested trying acupuncture for her arthritis, he hoped the treatment would outweigh the trauma.

His human friends swore by the ancient process, but he wondered how much of the results were psychological. With animals, however, there is no placebo effect. Daisy might know where she was going, but she wouldn’t comprehend the reason for a row of needles inserted along her furry spine.

“I was a bit skeptical. I’m also very much open-minded,” said Johnson, a nuclear engineer from Orange. “We took her in.”

Within a couple of treatments, Daisy seemed five years younger, a frisky kitty once again. Her appetite improved. She climbs to the top of her cat tree. Her gait looks normal when she scampers around the house.

“She doesn’t like it, but she puts up with it,” Johnson said. “I’m a believer. I don’t know how it works. You can’t deny the results.”

Veterinarian Robert Woods, who practices in Tustin and Garden Grove, treats Daisy as well as an assortment of dogs, and even birds, rabbits and reptiles. He still performs surgeries and prescribes traditional medications, but he’s a big advocate of the holistic art of animal acupuncture, which originated several thousand years ago in China with the treatment of livestock.

Acupuncture, in both humans and pets, is based on a technique to balance the flow of energy, called qi, through the pathways or meridians of the body. Inserting thin needles into specific points is traditionally believed to rebalance the energy flow. Western researchers don’t know exactly how it works, but the stimulation of nerves and muscles may activate the body’s natural painkillers and increase blood flow.

“It’s challenging, but overall I’m always amazed by how well received it is by the animals,” Woods said. “I don’t understand how they’re able to sit for this. You’d think they would jump off the table or bite or run away.”

Instead, pets like Jazz, a Flat-Coated retriever, would relax and doze after Woods inserted the fine needles, the same as those used in human hands or the face.

Jazz received weekly acupuncture for two years to counteract side effects from chemotherapy. Despite lung cancer and removal of a lobe, she continued agility competitions.

“She was just much happier,” said her owner, Teresa Rodney of Fountain Valley. “You never could have known she was on chemotherapy.”

At $85 a session, the treatment is expensive. But Rodney had lost other dogs to cancer and wanted no regrets with Jazz. Each week Woods asked if there were any particular problems to work on, such as loss of appetite.

“Her main issue was not wanting to eat,” Rodney said. “Within an hour, she would be ravenous.”

Woods said if acupuncture works for an animal, the response can typically be seen within 24 hours. The benefits last three to five days, but Woods said over time the effect builds and treatment can often be stopped altogether or done less frequently.

As in humans, acupuncture has been studied in animals. According to the National Cancer Institute, studies in rats suggest acupuncture may be effective in reducing cancer-related symptoms. A 2008 study of reproduction in horses found better hormone regulation after treatment. Another study, of dogs with parasites, found acupuncture stimulated their immune systems.

Ultimately, Jazz died at 9 from a different kind of cancer.

“I think it increased her overall quality of life and made her have that spark in her eye,” Woods said of the acupuncture sessions.

Kris Gillan feared she would lose her beloved Roxanne, when the Dachshund’s back-end became paralyzed and she could no longer walk. Her vet diagnosed disc disease, common in the breed, and referred her to a spine specialist.

Surgery would cost nearly $5,000 and Roxanne was declining rapidly. Desperate, Gillan e-mailed Woods about acupuncture after finding him in an online search.

“He didn’t promise me anything,” Gillan said. “Within a couple weeks, she was walking but walking like a drunken sailor. Within three months, she was walking perfectly.”

That was more than a year ago. These days, Roxanne, 5, trots happily along on walks.

Gillan, who lives in Fountain Valley, takes her back for the occasional tune-up session. She estimates she spent about $800 on acupuncture.

“It was a last-ditch effort,” she said. “She was a goner before I went to Dr. Woods. I call her the miracle dog.”

Woods said not only have his animal patients made dramatic improvements, but those results have prompted some of their owners to try acupuncture.

“I’ve had people stop smoking, treat chronic conditions and end up having children through acupuncture for fertility,” Woods said.

Contact the writer: 714-796-3686 or cperkes@ocregister.com

Dr. Robert Woods of the North Tustin Veterinary Clinic, uses acupuncture on Corky, a 13-year-old toy poodle, who has intervertebral disc disease and hip dysplasia. His owner, Sherry Loos of Long Beach, holds him on a recent Tuesday morning at the clinic. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Emily Barry, left, of Costa Mesa, with her dog, Maggie, looks amused as Frank, a three-legged German shepherd, stands at the counter, while Susan Groux, center, of Newport Beach, looks on at the North Tustin Veterinary Clinic. Both dogs received acupuncture at the clinic. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Thank you to all my clients for trying something out of the box and bringing your pets to benefit from acupuncture. Thank you to David Johnson, Teresa Rodney, and Kris Gillam for allowing Courtney to interview you. Also, thanks to my smiling patients on photo day: Emily Barry with “Maggie”, Susan Groux with “Frank”, Sherry Loos with “Corky”, and Betty Dodd with “Lady”. A special thanks to Courtney Perkes and “Chewy” for being interested enough to write an article.

YAY! My good friend “Sprint” with help from her owner, took SECOND PLACE in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge 2009 Nationals in the large dog agility competition. Sprint made the trek to Purina Farms in Summit Gray, Missouri to compete on October 2nd and 3rd in their National Finals Competition. I get the pleasure of treating Sprint with acupuncture, and have seen her compete in agility before. She is a dog that truly enjoys every moment of competing and lets you know by barking the whole time! I am glad she placed, but I am sure Sprint could upstage that Border Collie that won, if she was given another chance. Sprint certainly lives up to her name.

Inter Vertebral Disk Disease (IVDD) is a debilitating disease that affects multiple “long bodied” dogs. IVDD is particularly prevalent in Dachshunds, where UC Davis estimates that 1 in 5 will be affected.
What is IVDD?
The spine is comprised of several vertebrae that protect and support the spinal cord. Intervertebral discs are the cushion in between the vertebrae that allow for flexibility. Those discs have a tough outer “shell” that protects a “jelly” nucleus inside. When the “shell” is compromised it can cause the “jelly” to move uncharacteristically, typically referred to as bulging discs or herniated discs. Symptoms of IVDD can progress very rapidly or there may be a more chronic onset, lasting days to weeks. Usually signs of neck or back pain can be observed as difficulty walking, stumbling, and weakness. More shocking symptoms are seen as leg dragging, loss of bodily functions, and even paralysis.
IVDD is typically diagnosed with x-rays or an MRI. Once diagnosed, pet owners are usually given one of two options depending on the severity. They can use conservative measures by using anti-inflammatories, steroids, muscle relaxants, and confinement. OR management of the disease from a surgical standpoint where a procedure is done to decompress the spinal cord. The problem with the conservative side is that you are hoping for the best, you are hoping that the medications will prevent it from worsening. If you had the possibility of being paralyzed would you be calm enough to sit back and wait for the drugs to work? Or the other extreme is a surgical procedure, where usually the price is a BIG factor in the owners decisions. It is a costly procedure that has 6-9 weeks of recovery and owners will need to assist there dogs in the healing process. Not all dogs regain all of their motor functions. When dealing with IVDD time is of the essence.

Now knowing all this, let me introduce you to my recent new friend “Roxanne”. “Roxanne” is a 4 year old mini-dachshund, that was diagnosed with IVDD. I received an email from her mom, Kris Gillan, expressing her concern for her pet back on December 11, 2008. She was feeling pressure to go through with surgery from other veterinarians. Luckily, Kris was able to communicate with “Roxanne’s” breeder and was hoping for a non-surgical treatment for her pet. “Roxanne’s” breeder pointed them in my direction. That is when I met “Roxanne”, who is one of the cutest mini-dachshunds I have met, and her mom, armed with a report from the spine specialist, and a list of medications “Roxanne” was on. She had rear end weakness and because of that, she was unable to walk without assistance. We did a combination of treatments for “Roxanne”, acupuncture, chinese herbs, and homotoxicology. Now, my little friend “Roxanne” has made a complete turnaround, and is happy and healthy and walking! The picture was made for me by her mom Kris Gillan, and is now hanging on the wall in my house. I am very pleased that “Roxanne” was given a second chance, and that she can look forward to many more years of mobility. Thankfully, “Roxanne” and her mom are becoming an outreach
and sending more IVDD cases my way. I was sad to meet “Roxanne” in an unfortunate circumstance, but am happy that she has made an amazing recovery with non-invasive modalities.

I have a comical Golden Retriever as a client named “Sydney”. Once she walks into the office, she becomes the most shy, meek dog. She immediately rolls on her back, shows me her belly, wags her tail, and smiles. As if her face is telling me, “You are not really going to make me go into an exam room are you, I am fine right here”. She is sometimes so bashful that she will try to huddle underneath her mom’s chair as to be “invisible”. There have been many a times where she is nicely scooted across the floor to come and see me. She has one of the thickest, curliest coats of all the goldens I see. She is a true Golden Retriever, as she has a heart of gold! She is always a pleasure to see, even when she is not so enthused to be at the office.
“Sydney” and her family moved away a couple of years ago, but now she is back in California, and back to coming and visiting me. Her mom, Liz, has started a business that manufactures Pet Bed Covers. What separates her business from all the others, as first hand pet owner, she knows the routines of owning a pet. No more headaches of trying to stuff a giant pet bed inside a zippered cover, imagine if you had to put a zippered cover on your mattress! Instead, her covers stay in place with an elastic band which makes it very easy to slip on and off. She makes all different sizes in a round or rectangular shape and gives you the option of picking out the patterns. They create “Custom duvets for one-of-a-kind pets”.
So, take a look at Sydney and Friends www.petbedcovers.com and read her story!

Thank you for the homemade caramel corn and carrot cake! It was hard not to eat it all in one sitting, it is delicious. Hopefully you two bassets will stay out of the treats during holidays!