What a crazy coupla' weeks! First, mom did this thing called 'class' which basically means, she went from being gone most of the day,
to all the time. Strangers came and walked Ella Bean and I and gave us playtime, but it wasn't as good as having our mom at home to snuggle with. Then, we went and stayed with the grandparents.THAT was awesome. We tormented Uncle Sammi who is 105 doggie years old. He also eats yummy raw meat. We would jump on the bed and screeeeccchhh to a halt, right in front of him, waking him from his sleep. He is pretty easy to annoy. He is blind and deaf, so he doesn't hear or see anyone coming! Uncle Sammi then gave us a firm barking at, so we stopped. Ella and I enjoyed chasing one another up and down the stairs and made sure to spend plenty of time polishing grandpa's head. Good stuff.
After the awful 'class' ended, Mom took us on a special trip to the beach
with our pals! SUPER!! I waded in the bay, copying my Cavalier pals Baxter and Bronson and chasing after sticks. It was wet and cold, but I was super beastly and splashed like the all powerful animal I am!Then, we followed with some romping on the sand and all of a sudden, OUCH! Something really hurt in my hind leg! Mom was feeling the leg (which was so embarassing. I mean, I am almost 14 dog years old. I can't be seen being cooed over by Mom in public!) and said that my kneecap slipped out. In human talk, its called a luxating patella. In doggie talk, I just call it ouchey! It happened three more times 'cuz I wouldn't sit still. I wanted to keep playing with my pals!
Mom was really upset - probably more then I was!
Sooo, she of course started researching and talking to the humans who know how to heal. Mom was convinced that I was going to need surgery - but the doctor could not manually luxate my patella. A patella which can be manually luxated is a surefire sign that this is a chronic, congenital issue. Doc Pema thinks this was an acute injury, because I played like such a beast! RAWR!
She suggested some acupuncture...Hmmm....Acupuncture didn't sound bad!! Sounds like a yummy meat! I wagged my tush with excitement, anticipating some yummy acupuncture...but nothing yummy came. Hmmm. Oh well, I was surrounded by humans, all telling me how handsome I am! Then, Doc Pema came out with the sharp metal thingies - AND INSERTED THEM IN MY LEG! What the bones was that about?? Hmmm...Not as bad as I thought it would be. Tush continues to shake and OUCH!
Tail. Caught. On. Needle. Ow ow ow ow...
The pain subsided 15 - 20 seconds later, Mom was holding me steady and all of a sudden I felt woozy...I settled down and fell asleep, my face in Mom's human paws.
Suppawsedly, acupuncture in dogs is becoming more common! Acupuncture is the insertion of sterilized needles to the body, which stimulates the body to heal itself. Its based on the concept that life energy flows from the organs. This life energy, or Qi can be restored if it is disrupted by illness or injury, by inserting the needles along a specific path.
This treatment can be used to treat all kinds of stuff! Neurological issues, skin disease, gastrointestinal stuff, and muscle and skeletal injury or abnormality are common ailments for which acupuncture is prescribed. These treatments stimulate nerves, increase circulation and even helps release cortisol and endorphins!So far, it seems I'll only need one treatment. Which is kind of a bummer. Even though it wasn't yummy, it felt nice! The humans are doing some other stuff, such as yummy food and herbal supplements, which I'll tell you more about tomorrow. I am beat from my treatment and need to catch some snoozles.
Oh, check out the picture of my doctor, Dr. Pema, of Veterinary Holistic Care in Bethesda giving another dog some acupuncture. This picture is of my doctor in a Washington Post article on veterinary acupuncture. Suppawsedly, the Post is a big deal to humans. I personally like to shred the Post and mark it when it comes in MY house!
I'll bark at ya later and let you know how its working out!
Louis R.
3 comments: