This is my Beagle, Hawkeye. He often comes with me in my work with reactive dogs. He is a saint with other canines, and never met a human he didn’t adore — after first hitting them up for a treat, of course.
In smooching his long Beagle nose, I’ve come to notice that it has become solid white, along with the inside of his long ears. I’ve had to finally face the facts: at 12 years old, he’s a very old man. 98, actually, if you believe that old calculation. And like most old men, he needs alot of sleep. So unless we are working, the likelihood of finding him cuddled up like this in the cushiest spot he can find, is generally pretty good.
That is, however, until he met Dr. Rhea Dodd.
It began like this: Hawkeye had been acting a bit down. He had a slight cough, seemed lethargic, stiff in his movement, and when his three siblings took off on their daily run, he preferred to amble slowly along behind. He’s getting old, I told myself. It’s just the way of things. My poor little buddy was headed down the spiral path of age-related decline, and there was no stopping it.
I let it go for a few days, but found I just couldn’t resign him to that fate. I decided that we were gonna fight back the hands of time to whatever extent we could! We had already done bloodwork and a check-up without much specific in the way of recommendations. So I took a chance on an alternate path: I chose to try acupuncture and chiropractic as a means to bring some health and vitality back to this little old Beagle.
I did some internet research, chatted with a few people I felt were “in the know”, and in the end, all directions seemed to point to Dr. Rhea Dodd, DVM, MA and her practice, Gentle Vet. She practices out of several locations, but Hawkeye and I visited her in Littleton, at the Coal Mine Animal Hospital.
Her office is cozy, with gentle light, and a comfy pad on the floor. Hawkeye was initially panting and anxious, but Dr. Dodd has a beautiful bedside manner and a steady supply of treats that eased his fear. After she gently slipped a variety of needles in all the right places, he quickly got that glazed, happy dog look and laid down on the pad. She carefully felt up his spine, finding places of discomfort, gently popping things back in to order. The Beagle was deeply entrenched in his happy place and beyond caring. As we headed out of the office, he was basically floating, as much as an overweight Beagle can float.
That evening on our walk, I took Hawkeye out of the car with his brothers and sister, expecting him to be worn out and hobbling along slowly after his appointment — and his shorter-than-was-customary nap. But that was not the case! When I air-lifted the Beagle from the car down onto the ground, he took off like a rocket — long white ears streaming behind him like war banners. I was shocked!
This ancient Beagle was speeding off ahead of the others — one of them left eating his dust was an 85-lb. American Bulldog in the prime of his life! His normal Beagle gallop was generally not much faster than I can walk. But all of sudden, this dog was stretching out his legs at a full run, with a range of motion that was eating up the acreage like a Thoroughbred racehorse — a 21″ high racehorse, mind you.
It goes without saying that I stand among the converted. I’ve seen the effects of acupuncture and chiropractic with my own eyes. It’s indisputable. It was so effective, I’ve put the aforementioned American Bulldog in the care of Dr. Dodd as well. After two ACL surgeries, he suffers pretty constant pain, and the acupuncture, along with the doctor’s regimen of Adequan, has brought him enormous relief.
Consider this avenue if you have a dog suffering from osteo pain, arthritis, nervous system disorders, immune- or age-related problems, to name just a few canine issues. These treatments help the dog to move back into a state of health, and gives your dog back balance, vitality, and its own natural ability to heal.
I speak for The Beagle when I say, “Thank you, Dr. Dodd!”
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