Actions

Downriver doctors using acupuncture and chiropractic treatments to help animals walk again

Posted at 11:19 PM, Jun 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-15 09:28:52-04

"When this all happened, my world came crashing down," said Avalon Roman about the day Bell, her seven-year-old Basset Hound, fell off the bed and, within a day, lost the use of her back legs and ability to control her bladder.

One veterinarian told Roman she'd have to pay thousands of dollars to get Bell walking again or euthanize her.

Deb Reding also faced similar anguish when Morgan, one of her beloved dachshunds, lost the use of his rear legs. 

"He was very, very bad," said Reding. "I thought we were going to have to euthanize him."

Reding and Roman are some of the pet owners who have seen a remarkable recovery of their dogs after Dr. Patricia Odette, a longtime chiropractor, and Dr. Lucretia Greear, a veterinary surgeon, began treating Morgan and Bell with chiropractic treatments and acupuncture. 

"Thirty-eight years of being a chiropractor, I know what it does and it's very powerful," said Dr. Odette who works with Dr. Greear in her Woodhaven Animal Hospital one day a week.

"Everything that I do works ten to twenty times better because she's working on them first," said Dr. Greear, an accomplished surgeon in the field of veterinary medicine who also took the time to study and become certified in acupuncture.

The treatments are also much more affordable than surgery. 

"I was just sobbing," said Reding about the time she saw Morgan walking again for the first time.

"Amazing," said Roman of Bell's quick recovery. "I'm just so happy that she can walk again."

Dr. Greear and Dr. Odette are now working on getting another dachshund, named Dobie, to walk again.

Dobie, who lost the ability to walk and had severe urine burns from being left in a cage, was hours away from being euthanized at a veterinary hospital in Illinois when he was rescued from death row by volunteers with Dachshund Haus Rescue. 

Dobie was flown to Michigan by Bryan Ede, a retired Detroit Police officer.

The Animal Resource Funding Foundation (ARFF) is covering the cost of Dobie's treatments to walk again. And once he's healthy enough, the rescue will be looking for the perfect home for Dobie.

ARFF is dedicated to helping rescues and shelters with the animals in their care, and they are involved in outreach programs to help pay for everything from food to vaccinations for pets that live outside 24/7.

Animal Resource Funding Foundation - https://www.facebook.com/arffmichigan/

Dachshund Haus Rescue - https://dachshundhausrescue.org/

Woodhaven Animal Hospital - http://woodhavenanimalhospital.com/