History: Every three months, whether it’s his shoulder, neck, low back or knee, Harley needs a hand. Some of his injuries are self-induced like jumping from the back of the couch after the mailman, and others happen because of his breed.

Current Issues: The partial rupture of his left cranial cruciate ligament. He would not walk and held the affected leg up all the time.

Conventional treatment: None. Radiographs did not show a fracture and soft tissue injury is hard to see on films. Although many owners would have opted for surgery, since he is very sensitive to the benefits of acupuncture, his owners thought we would try this less invasive technique first. He vomits when on NSAIDS, so we use herbs for inflammation instead.

Current holistic treatment: Traumeel and arnica homeopathics alternated every eight hours. A boswellia-containing Chinese herbs called china tung sheuh (my favorite for this injury), acupuncture and aquapuncture into key “knee” points. In the past, chiropractic has been essential for his neck, back and shoulder.

Partial list of supplements/nutrition: When Harley eats homemade food, he heals fast. He has narrowly escaped several surgeries, but would have required many more acupuncture treatments if he were not on meat, veggies and supplements every day. He is on a diet all the time to keep the weight off his back, neck and knee and does not eat more than ¼ cup daily. Fish oil 250 mg DHA/EPA, glucosamine sulfate at 500mg divided twice a day, vitamin C at 250 mg, MSM at 125 mg, calcium citrate 125 mg, homeopathics and Chinese herbs as needed.

Special note: I only need to see Harley every two or three months. He is running normally with only three acupuncture sessions for his ligament injury. We also keep his teeth brushed to avoid unnecessary dentals. His teeth are sparkling white! And his gums are healthy from so many antioxidants in his diet.