ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 30, 1996 TAG: 9608300005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: JAN CIENSKI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MORE AND MORE OWNERS are trying alternative treatments for their furry friends. Many of them now swear by these exotic therapies, such as acupuncture and homeopathy. - The prognosis was grim for Brunzi. Veterinarians said the 5-year-old golden retriever had cancer and needed immediate surgery and radiation therapy.
But Brunzi's owner, Carol Marangoni of Garrison, N.Y., balked at the proposed treatment. Instead, she took Brunzi to a veterinarian who gave the dog herbal treatments and recommended a new diet.
That was four years ago. Brunzi's health improved, and he is still doing well on a diet of home-cooked chicken, organic brown rice and nutritional supplements that include shark cartilage, adrenal extracts, kelp, vitamins and minerals.
Other pet owners and veterinarians are using even more exotic therapies, including acupuncture, homeopathy and chiropractic medicine.
Some of the treatments, such as acupuncture, have been around for thousands of years and have long been used on both human beings and animals.
``Historically, the Chinese used acupuncture on their horses, probably for souping them up for battles,'' said Dr. Jordan Kocen, who uses alternative therapies at the SouthPaws clinic in Springfield.
While most of the conventional medicines used by human beings were developed by tests on animals, most traditional remedies were first used on people and only later on animals, Kocen said.
In the United States, the use of alternative therapies on animals dates back only 20 years, said Dr. Greig Howie of Dover, Del., president-elect of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.
``The holistic method treats the whole body,'' he said. ``It's much more gentle with less side effects than regular medicine.''
There are about 55,000 vets in the country, but only about 400 have joined the holistic veterinary association, said Howie. Many veterinarians, however, use some types of alternative therapy, he said.
Most vets who use alternative treatments blend the techniques with more conventional therapy. Dr. Larry Winters, a Mechanicsville veterinarian, uses acupuncture to delay the use of conventional medicines.
``I think you've got to integrate both forms of therapy,'' he said.
But some veterinarians advocate a more radical approach, avoiding standard treatments such as vaccinations.
``It took me 20 years to realize that something wasn't right,'' Howie said. ``I was seeing all these animals come back with all these problems after vaccinations.''
While some aspects of alternative therapy such as acupuncture are acknowledged by conventional veterinarians, such unorthodox notions as avoiding vaccines cause more concern.
``There are certainly some therapies that have shown some benefit for some problems,'' said Dr. Linda Ross, associate dean for clinical programs and hospital director at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton, Mass.
``My major concern is that some owners will choose to utilize an alternative method of therapy and ignore a proven conventional method of therapy.''
``Vaccines for some of the big, deadly diseases are very prudent,'' said Dr. William Monroe, associate professor for small animal medicine at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg.
While even the practitioners of alternative therapies acknowledge that little scientific work has been done to show the effectiveness of their treatments, some pet owners swear by the techniques.
`It's just been a lifesaver for us,'' said Suzanne Root. Her Labrador retriever mix, Ebony, is undergoing acupuncture therapy for hip dysplasia.
Most of those who shy away from conventional medicines for their animals are also suspicious about using Western medicine on themselves, Kocen said.
For others, the leap to alternative therapies is a lot tougher. Marangoni has a doctorate in experimental psychology and has worked as a bio-statistician for a pharmaceutical company, and her father was a physician.
``I had no experience with alternative medicine,'' she said. ``I was like a fanatic with the conventional medicine.''
After Brunzi's cure, Marangoni changed her mind.
``I had two close family members die of cancer, and they used conventional medicine,'' she said. ``After my experience with Brunzi, I wouldn't hesitate to use [alternative] therapy on myself.''
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Dr. Larry Winters injects vitamin B-12 intoby CNBacupuncture points on a dog in his office in Mechanicsville, Va.,
recently.