Like acupuncture for people, acupuncture for pets is gaining in popularity:

"Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years on people, so this isn't a new practice. But Milo is a mastiff-boxer crossbreed, and the table was in Granite City Pet Hospital & Surgery Center.

He is one of a growing number of pets -- household and other -- who receive acupuncture to treat ailments.

During that 20-minute session, Milo had 10 needles inserted into various places on his body. He was receiving after-surgery treatment for a ruptured ligament in his knee.

The needles, inserted into his right hind leg -- the one that had surgery -- right foreleg, his head and back will speed the recovery. Four needles were connected to a machine that provides an electric charge to stimulate them.

"As people begin to look for alternative therapies for themselves, they search for them for their pet, too," said Alyssa Erlandson, a veterinarian at Granite City.

Erlandson is one of a handful of vets in the area who practice alternative healing methods for pets.

In the year Erlandson has been practicing acupuncture, she has treated arthritis pain, post-surgical conditions, seizures, inflammatory bowel disease, behavioral problems, urinary tract incontinence and other chronic conditions.

Erlandson usually recommends procedures and normal medications before suggesting acupuncture.

The needles stimulate nerves and release natural pain relievers. It won't cure things such as arthritis, but it will alleviate some discomfort. It can usually relieve urinary incontinence completely with several treatments.

Sergeant, a papillon from Foley, started acupuncture treatment three months ago. He now has it every other week to treat seizures.

"He has definitely cut down in the frequency and the strength of the seizures (after acupuncture)," said Sharon Rausch, Sergeant's owner. "They're much, much more mild than they used to be.""