A friend of mine forwarded me this recent article from the NYTimes and I really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d pass it on. 

Now, I have to say that I’m pretty skeptical about alternative medicine for people (much less dogs), but I thought the article did a really good job of telling a positive story of one specific dog owner’s acupuncture experience, while also presenting a balanced view of the treatment. 

I probably would have just dismissed the article all-together except that Oscar has been struggling with a broken toe that just won’t seem to heal for the past 4 months.  (I should say that WE’RE struggling with it, Oscar actually seems to have adjusted really well to the splint he’s had to wear around since December). 

After reviewing the options that modern medicine can provide (which include surgery and amputation), I’ll admit that I’ve thought about a lot of stuff that I never thought I would…hoping for a miracle, making secret mental deals with a higher power (take my toe, save his!!)…so alternative medicine is actually not sounding that crazy to me anymore.  I find it really ironic that my desperation to get Oscar back to full speed has led me to open my mind and consider options that I never would consider exploring for myself.

Anyway, I think we’re going to give modern medicine and mother nature a little more time before we try a different path, but I’m not counting anything out right now.  If you have any experience using acupuncture or other forms of alternative medicine to deal with your dog’s health issues, I’d love to hear about it.