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Acupuncture: Rx for pets in pain

A veterinarian who understands the hurt of rheumatoid arthritis uses the ancient Chinese practice to treat pets.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS
Published March 3, 2006

BRANDON - Dr. Felicity Talbot rubs the graying muzzle of Shooter, a 12-year-old chocolate Lab. The dog, no stranger to her gentle touch, licks her face.

"You've got arthritis," she says to Shooter. "Just like me."

Talbot was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 18. Now 30, she is one of a handful of veterinarians in the area who perform acupuncture on animals. A veterinarian at Brandon Veterinary Specialists, she practices the Chinese therapy to treat animals in pain.

"I can definitely relate," she says.

The big brown eyes of Bella, a paralyzed Yorkie resting in a Snugli, shine out at Talbot. Bella was beaten by her original owners in Louisiana. They broke her back, and now the dog, in addition to being paralyzed, has a slow digestive tract.

Bella shivers as Talbot inserts needles into association points on either side of the dog's spine. The needles stimulate the dog's stomach and kidneys, helping Bella move food through her system.

Bella calms down and stops shivering.

"I can't believe she isn't shaking with you," says her owner, Nicci Bennett. "She shakes with everyone!"

After 15 minutes, Talbot removes the needles.

Bella has a surprise for the two women.

"She pooped!" Bennett says. "The treatment worked."

Bennett whips out diapers and baby powder and begins to change the dog.

One night Bennett's other dog, ChrisMiss, twisted her spine, which left her in severe pain. Vets at the University of Florida's Veterinary Medical Center told Bennett they would have to amputate ChrisMiss' hind legs.

Bennett didn't want to put her dog through the operation. She brought ChrisMiss to Talbot for acupuncture treatment. Now, Bennett says, the dog is fine and doesn't even need medication.

"My dog didn't have a chance," Bennett says. "Now she can run and play."

"You're my miracle," she tells Talbot.

Talbot was a teenager when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that normally affects people much older. Dealing with it wasn't easy.

For the first four years, she pursued strictly conventional treatment. There were medicines. There were surgeries. There were doctors who put metal pins into her joints.

Then, as a young vet technician, she worked for a veterinarian who performed acupuncture on animals. And in a second, her future took shape. She had found a career and a treatment for herself.

"I really believe it led me to this path, for myself and the animals," Talbot said.

She went to the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine and took classes in animal acupuncture. Now she works in Tampa and travels to Brandon and other areas, helping animals.

She also enjoys drawing, particularly abstract portraits. She recently bought a house and wants to become an animal chiropractor.

At first, acupuncture worked on her own pain. But then the rheumatoid arthritis became too chronic.

"I never know what my disease is going to do," she said, "but I'm doing well for someone who's had it for 12 years."

Sometimes, she feels severe pain and fears becoming crippled.

"There's good days and bad days," Talbot said.

In the clinic one morning, Talbot frowned as she overheard a conversation in the waiting room. Another veterinarian told a client that acupuncture cannot do any more for his dog. The client should consider surgery.

"It's not magic," she says. "I wish it was."

Helen Anne Travis can be reached at 661-2439 or at htravis@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 17:05:34]