Jack and I have always said that the best thing we ever did was bring two dear little wiener dogs (dachshunds) into our family. Tessa and Winnie have given us so much joy, amusing us constantly, loving us fully and bringing our immediate family closer together. So it was as if a piece of our hearts were broken when Winnie started to show signs of ill health.

We had noticed for a while she seemed to be having difficulty seeing. When she went outside she would often stop and stare into space. She wasn't walking smoothly, she was getting a little tottery and no longer wanted to jump up on the couch with us, her favorite place. Well, she was twelve years old now and so it was easy to assume that it was the fact that she was getting older that was the reason she just wasn't herself.

We hadn't realized just how much difficulty she was having, however, until she made our stomach's drop as we came home from our nightly walk. Instead of walking down the sidewalk, she had veered into the neighbor's driveway and instead of walking back to us she walked right off the 3 foot wall between our driveways. Thankfully she landed on her feet, but we knew then that her vision was a lot worse than we suspected and vowed to keep her close to us at all times when out for our walk.

A couple of days later her symptoms worsened. She began pacing constantly and losing control of her limbs, slipping on the hardwood floors. When she finally lay down on her bed she was unable to rest her head. But most distressing of all was seeing her walk into walls, stand pressing her head into corners and seeming to not know we were there. She couldn't settle down at night and in our concern, we weren't sleeping well either. We wondered if she had hurt her back from the drop.

I practice Healing Touch and moved my hand over her little body in assessment. Her back seemed OK but I sensed there was something not right in her neck and head. I could bring her some relief but she was in a lot of discomfort so we knew we had to take her in and have a veterinarian look at her.

I took her in to see Dr. Smith at Tree of Life Veterinary Care, because I believe strongly in holistic care. The drive to the vet was very stressful. Winnie was on the front seat and simply couldn't sit still. I tried to keep her from hurting herself and she strained against my hand.

In the comfortable examination room, Dr. Smith watched our little Winnie as she walked around and around the room. Winnie was constantly moving, pressing her head into corners, stumbling around the chair and appeared to be not cognizant mentally. It was comforting to sit back and know that we were in the presence of someone that was both caring and knowledgeable. Dr. Smith's observations were accurate and concerning. Winnie's back was fine but she was blind and the indications were of intense pressure in the head/brain area which causes dogs to press into corners in an attempt to find relief. Acupuncture was suggested to relieve the pressure and I quickly agreed.

Oh, Winnie was so cute with the acupuncture needles on her head and behind her ears! A couple more needles were placed in her legs and I picked her up and held her still for 10 - 15 minutes. When Dr. Smith came into the room she removed the needles and I put our dear little dog back on the floor.

It was absolutely amazing to see the transformation. Winnie stood on the floor and looked up at me as if to say, where have you been mom? She was no longer pacing and pressing into corners. Her vision had improved, she was alert and attentive, especially to the liver treats! It was absolutely astonishing that there could be so much positive change in such a short time with such a simple and non-invasive treatment.

After the trauma of the last couple of weeks, it is impossible to say how relieved we were to have our little Winnie back with us, alert and aware of both her surroundings and responding to us. To bring her home and see her resting comfortably allowed us to finally rest and her sister, Tessa, was happy as well.

Winnie has continued to improve. Following Dr. Smith's recommendation, we have supplemented Winnie's diet with Chinese herbs. When symptoms seem to act up again she has had more acupuncture treatments and Dr. Matheson has also given her a little chiropractic adjustment on her neck. Does Winnie look or act twelve years old now? No way! She scampers around the house and is a delight to us all. We have a great appreciation for all that she has gone through and we are so happy to have her comfortable and content.  http://www.messagestoself.com/