SAN ANTONIO – Alternative types of medical treatments like herbs, acupuncture and aromatherapy have been gaining popularity over the years.
Now many of these treatments are crossing over into the animal world.
Dr. Michelle Bammel, a veterinarian with Westridge Pet Hospital and Wellness Center in Schertz, uses holistic, integrated and alternative therapies to treat her patients.
A 10-year-old German shepherd named Klaus became her patient about six moths ago having torn a ligament in his knee, the equivalent to a human's ACL.
When Klaus was first injured, his owner, Guy Monson, faced one of the toughest decisions a pet owner can make.
"What we weren't going to do was let him suffer. We were not going to do that," said Monson.
"Klaus couldn't get up and Klaus couldn't walk, and his owners thought it was time to put him down because they didn't feel like surgery was a good option for him at his age. So they came to us to se if there (was) anything we could do," said Bammel.
Along with acupuncture, Klaus receives herbal medicines, laser therapy and rehabilitation therapy on an underwater treadmill.
Within two months he was standing up again and now, six months later, he's back to chasing squirrels.
"He's definitely back to his normal, kind of sassy self, I guess is the term I'd use," said Monson.
According to Bammel, often times a mixture of different types of healing modalities, including eastern and western medicine, can be the key in helping a pet to heal.
"It's not only a drug or acupuncture or Chinese herbs. We use them all and we use the best of all the worlds," said Bammel. "I think that people are starting to realize there's some truth to it and some use to it, and that it's been working for thousands of years in other countries, and maybe we can use it here and blend it in with what we do then we can see the benefits of it."
It's a combination that helped buy precious time for Klaus and his family.
"After seeing it work on humans, well we thought this is going to work great for Klaus and it has, it really has. So I'm a believer," said Monson, "It'll be a tough day when he finally leaves us, but we were glad we got the extra time here."
Alternative therapies are now being used with all types of ailments and injuries with little or no side effects.
There are only about a handful of vets in the San Antonio area that offer acupuncture and holistic care.
Click here to see a list of vets that offer the therapies on the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association website.