Went with Red to see Dr. Colleen Flaherty at the Cambridge Valley Veterinary Clinic for his first acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is growing increasingly popular with animal lovers as a means of treating illness, pain, behavioral problems and stress. I always think it’s a bit ironic that people are turning to Asian medicine for dogs when they eat dogs in most of Asia, they do not bring them into bed.

I was curious to see how this treatment affected Red. The first treatment cost $120 – evaluation, questionnaire, and then the treatment. Subsequent visits are about half of that. Dr. Flaherty asked me a lot of questions about Red – his behavior, eating habits, history, behavioral traits. It was good to talk about Red with a vet, he is an intense dog and living with him has been an intense experience. I realized describing him just how much of an impact he has had on me, my life, and the lives of others.

My purpose in beginning acupuncture treatments for him were a little fuzzy for me. I was curious about it, but I also felt that Red could use some help with calming and stress. He is a wired-up border collie, he works with sheep, in therapy, goes everywhere with me, watches me closely. He almost never relaxes, is in constant motion. He is a worrier, I think, an eager-to-please and vigilant dog and I thought he deserved the chance to be calmer, to be more grounded. I was impressed with the first visit.

Red stood up as Dr. Flaherty inserted the needles, then lay down and was still for more than 20 minutes. He seemed very much at ease, at peace there, I had the sense this was good for him, calming and settling, a release from his good and very intense and hard work. She inserted about 20 very thin needles, they caused him no discomfort.

Last night, he was as calm as I have seen him, he seemed to be quiet, resting, not quite a hyper or alert. I was encouraged by the first visit, and will continue the treatments. I told Dr. Flaherty my purpose was to help Red learn how to relax and also to give him release from the sometimes tense and very hard work he does almost every day. I’ll be taking photos as well.