Animal Inspiration

My first blog post is dedicated to my dear cat Darcy, who was one of the many inspirations that led me to become an acupuncturist. When he started mysteriously losing weight and his conventional vet offered additional expensive diagnostics but with no real promising treatment options, I brought him to a veterinary acupuncturist, the outstanding Dr. Nina Malik of Long Island Veterinary Acupuncture. I went with no expectations, just the hope that acupuncture could help boost his energy and quality of life for whatever time he had left. Darcy vocally protested a bit at first but quickly relaxed into a catnap on the treatment table. After the first session his weight stabilized, then following subsequent treatments he started regaining weight, and his bloodwork showed improved anemia and liver enzyme levels. For three more very happy years, Darcy had a great quality of life with acupuncture supporting him until his heart and kidney disease reached the end stage around the age of 18.

Over the years I’ve brought my other pets for acupuncture when they needed a health boost. To ensure equal cat-dog representation, also pictured here is my beloved old dog Pippin, showing off his post-acupuncture glow.

Acupuncture in animals is especially interesting because they respond demonstrably well and there’s no placebo effect. Grateful for how acupuncture helped my sweet pets and curious to learn more, I was further motivated to study it in greater depth myself.

Please consider acupuncture as an option to help your own pets!