Monday, October 11, 2010
Holistic healing for pets
Photos by JEANNA DUERSCHERL The Roanoke Times
Heather St. Clair sits with her cat, Twitch, as Dr. Todd Czarnecki removes a needle during an acupuncture session. Twitch's mother had feline distemper, which caused her to have cerebellar hypoplasia, which causes twitching and lack of coordination. St. Clair says she has seen improvement since the weekly sessons started.
Dr. Todd Czarnecki performs acupuncture on Twitch, a cat.
JEANNA DUERSCHERL The Roanoke Times
Reiki practioner Diane Novak lightly touches Pupper, a 14-year-old shepherd-doberman mix, as Shadow, a 15-year-old Labrador mix stands nearby.
Nona Nelson, The Happy Wag
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I don't believe in too many things that I can't see, and I don't put much stock in theories that can't be proven scientifically.
And yet even a cynic like me recognizes there is a strong connection not just between the brain and the body, but between the mind and the body.
I am, after all, a woman who has worried herself sick.
I also know from my own experience that pets are adept at picking up on mental and emotional energy from humans.
An agitated person will rarely succeed in calming an agitated dog.
So I kept an open mind when I went to observe a few nontraditional ways to treat physical ailments in pets, because it seems reasonable to me that if you can become ill from negative mental energy, you could be helped by positive mental energy.
So free your mind, and let me share the stories of a dog and a cat, both of whom have found relief from holistic forms of healing.
Needle points
Todd Czarnecki has been practicing veterinary medicine at Hanging Rock Animal Hospital in Roanoke County since 1999.
He describes himself as an open-minded general practitioner who embraces Eastern and Western forms of healing.
"As long as it works," Czarnecki said. "It's just a desire to help the body heal itself."
The veterinarian practices acupuncture, an ancient form of healing that involves inserting sterile needles into muscles and soft tissue. The procedure aims to restore balance to the body's natural energy, and thus relieving pain and stress.
Czarnecki took a course in San Diego to become certified to perform acupuncture on animals.
"A lot of the patients I see have disc problems from old injuries," he said. "It's actually more efficient than surgery for chronic bad discs."
Czarnecki said acupuncture can improve circulation, reduce inflammation and release endorphins.
Twitch
I watched Czarnecki perform the procedure on Twitch, a 2-year-old kitty with a chronic neurological problem.
The motherless kitten suspected of having rabies was brought to Hanging Rock Animal Hospital by animal control officers.
Her diagnosis was cerebellar hypoplasia, a non-life-threatening condition that meant the part of her brain that controls her motor functions did not develop properly during gestation.
Vet tech Heather St. Clair took care of the special-needs kitten and eventually adopted her.
"It's not supposed to get worse," St. Clair said. "But it's not something that will go away."
Twitch's brain doesn't send the right signals to her body, sometimes overstimulating and causing tremors -- hence her name -- and sometimes understimulating, which can lead to atrophy in her legs.
"Her muscles were like concrete when we first started on her," Czarnecki said.
St. Clair said the accupuncture has helped Twitch get around much easier.
"We saw an improvement after the first treatment," St. Clair said.
Twitch's disability has not prevented her from having a good quality of life.
"She's very sweet, and she loves to be held. She loves my two dogs," St. Clair said. Twitch, she added, has joined her family on weekend camping trips.
Czarnecki said he will continue to use acupuncture as a therapeutic tool as long as it's effective.
"As long as I'm still amazed by it, I'll keep doing it."
Channeling energy
Pupper is a 14-year-old shepherd mix that's feeling his age these days.
His pet mom, dog trainer Hope Cogen, said her elderly pooch has disc problems that sometimes render his back feet useless.
Besides traditional medical treatment for Pupper's aches and pains, Cogen said the dog has benefited from a relaxation therapy known as reiki.
Diane Novak visits Cogen's Southwest Roanoke home to help Pupper and Cogen's other dog, 15-year-old Shadow, channel their inner, positive energy.
Novak, a reiki practitioner who lives in Franklin County, has been studying the Japanese spiritual therapy since 2001, when the former New York resident said she needed to find a way to release the negative energy caused by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.
Because a pet cannot tell you where it hurts, Novak said reiki can help locate the "energy hot spots," which can be the source of the animal's pain.
Reiki, Novak said, also helps humans understand the pet's emotions.
"It's a total connection with the animal," Novak said. "It's like a love exchange."
Reiki practitioners work by running their hands over the meridians and chakras of the body to detect imbalances.
Meridians and chakras are specific zones of the body. When one zone is in distress due to illness or injury, it can cause an imbalance of energy through the body that can impede healing.
Pupper's session
Novak took a few minutes alone to center herself before she worked with Pupper. She said if the dog isn't able to center himself, the reiki will not be effective.
To make Pupper more comfortable and open to the experience, she allowed him time to calm down, curl up in his bed and slow his breathing.
While Novak was working with Pupper, I found myself breathing deeper, and I tried to clear my mind of negative thoughts. I didn't want to ruin the dog's experience with my own toxic energy -- no easy task for a skeptic like me.
Novak used a soothing touch on his ears and neck, and chatted with Cogen while she brushed the negative energy away from Pupper's aching limbs with sweeping motions of her hands hovering just above his body.
"I don't have to know where there's a problem," Novak said. "The energy will take me there."
Novak said reiki, which is a spiritual but not religious practice, harnesses universal energy to physically help the body boost its own immune system. It is particularly helpful for older dogs, she said, and should be used with regular veterinary care.
"I want people to know it's a safe and noninvasive way to help the body," she said.
"He always walks better and is stronger after a session. Sometimes for a week, sometimes more," Cogen said of her dog after Novak's visit. "I have found that with Pupper, when I notice that he's not walking well or seems uncomfortable, that he hasn't had a reiki session in a while."
Nona Nelson's column runs every other Monday in Extra. You can also check out her blog, The Happy Wag, at blogs.roanoke.com.
