Interview with an animal acupuncturist
Just as acupuncture is becoming more popular with people, so it is with animals. Here’s an interesting interview with an acupuncturist who specializes in animals:
“Veterinarian Dr. John Oullette of the Madison Veterinary Hospital discusses animal acupuncture in Q & A with Eyewitness News.
Eyewitness News: How long have you been doing acupuncture on animals?
Dr. Ouellette: I’ve been doing acupuncture for seven years. I was certified in acupuncture through the International Veterinary Society in 2000.
Eyewitness News: How did you decide to get involved in animal acupuncture?
Dr. Ouellette: It started with my own problems. I had a problem that caused me intense pain and the traditional treatment wasn’t helping and I looked for alternative treatments and after six years of suffering … I introduced myself to the alternative treatments and it helped, helped greatly.
‘If it helps me,’ I said, ‘maybe I should look for an alternative for the (animal) patient who has exhausted all Western techniques: surgery’s not indicated; the patient is older; drugs may not be appropriate; steroids and some of the non-steroidals may aggravate the dog.’
Eyewitness News: When would an animal owner seek out acupuncture for his/her pet?
Dr. Ouellette: Well, this would be a collaborative effort between your regular veterinarian who reaches a point where he says, ‘I think acupuncture might be helpful for you. I’ve tried everything else. I’ve tried surgical, medical treatments, and now I think it’s time to try alternative treatments.”
Eyewitness News: Do you treat an animal with acupuncture before using the so-called traditional methods?
Dr. Ouellette: We do have to be careful that we don’t go immediately to acupuncture without a full diagnosis based in Western medicine. You don’t want to be treating an animal that has a crack in its spine when it should have surgery. Or a broken leg when it should have surgery. So we have to be very careful. We insist on having a good medical – western medical – work-up: radiographs, cat scans, MRIs as needed, bloodwork and ultrasounds, echocardiograms are all used.”
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