The Miami Herald November 30, 2000 Vet employs acupuncture to treat pets' aches, pains
Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese treatment used for thousands of years to treat human ills, is being used in Weston to help animals. Four-legged creatures with ailments ranging from arthritis to epilepsy receive treatments from veterinarian Robert Ferran, who uses a combination of conventional and complementary medicine to treat his patients at Hometown Animal Hospital.
``I don't consider what I do to be alternative,'' said Ferran. ``Rather, I see it as complementary/conventional. Being a holistic practitioner to me implies trying to attain healing and not merely addressing symptoms. In conventional practice, we treat what the animal was brought in for. My interest is in treating the entire body,'' said Ferran, who practices at both Weston's Hometown Animal Hospital and at his own practice in Miami. ``The conventional approach has its place and acupuncture has its place. I use both depending on what's needed. It means I can offer the pet owner another option besides surgery.'' Although taking pets for acupuncture is a big trend in California and is available through two other veterinarians in South Florida, Ferran's credentials differ from many other veterinarians'. He completed a two-year course in traditional Chinese medicine for humans with the intention of treating animals. Then, he studied veterinary acupuncture. Now, Ferran is a certified acupuncturist for both humans and animals. He uses the treatment on himself. ``Often, when I have a busy, stressful day, I will stick needles in my neck at lunchtime to help me relax,'' said Ferran, who lives in Kendall. He uses gold bead implants, which provide acupuncture and stimulation of acupuncture points on a permanent basis. The gold-plated magnets are injected at various sites using a specially adapted syringe. Ferran uses the implants to treat pain-related disorders and degenerative joint disorders. ``The main reason people come to see me is because they do not want their pet to be in any kind of pain. Conventionally, we use analgesic drugs to relieve pain. Acupuncture causes the body to release natural pain-killing opiates and endorphins, lessening or eliminating the need for drugs,'' Ferran said. Acupuncture, from the Latin acus - meaning a needle, and pungere, to pierce or puncture - is the stimulation of specific points on the body that, in turn, alter various biochemical and physiological conditions. In gold beading, gold up to 24 carats is used because it is nonreactive to the body. The beads emit a mild electrical charge. Ferran used a form of energy reading on Parker, an 18-month-old, 65-pound bull mastiff, to feel for changes in his own pulse while moving his hand over the dog's body. ``Where there is a fluctuation in my own pulse, that is the spot that needs to have the gold beads implanted,'' Ferran said. It is also the reason he does not wear surgical gloves, but instead uses a sterilized needle. Half-an-hour later, Parker was encouraged to wake gently and without stress by the use of inch-long stainless steel needles inserted at specific points on the neck and nose. Pet owner and Miami restaurateur Jan Jorgensen brought his 11-month-old retriever Bambu for gold bead implants three weeks ago. Bambu had hip dysplasia. ``The problem was unexpected. I thought my dog was just clumsy until she started to limp and the problem showed up on the X-rays taken by Dr. Ferran,'' Jorgensen said. `` After half an hour, the results were absolutely amazing. It would have grown into arthritis, but now she has her life back.'' In certain cases, Ferran also uses remedies derived from traditional Chinese medicine, including chiropractic, herbology, homeopathy and laser therapy. Gold bead treatments cost from $600 to $1,300, including anesthesia. Cost depends upon severity of the problem. Acupuncture fees start at $60. For more information, call Ferran at 389-5800 or visit his website at www.NaturalPetdoc.com
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