Tony the Quadriplegic Mexican Hairless Dog Dances after Electro-Acupuncture Treatments
Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine you walk into a standard American family room with the leather sectional, big-screen TV, kids’ toys scattered over the area rug. Now picture a baby play pen in the middle of the room with a comforter and a plush dog bed in the middle. In the middle of the bed, a grey-skinned hairless Mexican Hairless dog with a white shock of long, straight hair flipped over his forehead sleeps in a premie baby diaper. He does not shiver in his sleep, although you would think he would if he could from sheer stress and discomfort. He cannot shiver because he became suddenly quadriplegic 18 hours ago. He cannot move from the neck down. Things are not looking good.
“Thank you for coming, Dr Truli. I don’t know what else we would do without trying acupuncture,” said Tony’s worried mom. Really, she seems to holding up well. Considering. “He was a normal happy dog until 1 am on Sunday. All of a sudden he yelped and then could not move. He was screaming and moaning in pain. We rushed him to the pet ER. They said he needed immediate neck surgery or else we would have to put him down. How could they say something like that?”
Unfortunately, as a previous General Practitioner, Emergency Room Veterinarian, and Holistic House Call Veterinarian, I had heard that before. Why didn’t they recommend a morphine drip and give the family time to think? Luckily, they called me instead of ending Tony’s life.
He was doped up on painkillers, anti-inflammatory medication, and muscle relaxants. There was no improvement in his legs since Sunday. I got to work.
Tony was an excellent candidate for electro-acupuncture. I used techniques to stimulate the nerves in the neck, soothe the ruptured intervertebral disc that the advanced testing at the emergency room had revealed, and manage his pain. Tony licked my hands and his bright eyes looked excited but nervous as his mom and I lifted his dog bed onto the leather sofa. We placed the dog bed in between us. Mom comforted him and pet his head while I placed the acupuncture needles. The treatment took about 20 minutes.
Tru Tip
Acupuncture needles in the United States are considered FDA-approved medical devices. They are sterile and for single-use in one patient only. We do not reuse them for other patients.
After his 20 minute treatment session, we replaced his dog bed in the center of the baby playpen. Tony tried to stand up!!!! He pulled his front end up and wobbled on his criss-crossed hind legs! He even tried to circle and dig a little nest in his dog bed, but he kept wobbling and falling over onto the baby bumpers.
Tony’s treatment was 3 electroacupuncture sessions about 3 days apart. After the 3rd session, mom sent me a video of Tony on his hind legs, no more diaper, and he was dancing with her 7-year-old daughter. Tony had his paws on her daughter’s hips and they were swaying to the music on the TV.
Maybe Tony’s recovery is not a miracle. Or maybe, it just might be!
