Protecting Your Pet: Pet chiropractor

Julie Kersten's Shetland sheepdog, Mandy, suffers from arthritis in her front legs. Now to help ease her pain, Mandy is going to the chiropractor.

"I figured if they can help me, they can help dogs as well," Kersten said.

"When you increase nerve circulation and blood flow, it increases normal and natural healing of the joint or tissue," Roxanne Best, an animal chiropractor, said. "That helps them function better [and] move better."

Kersten said thanks to half a dozen visits to a chiropractor, Mandy no longer limps and doesn't have to take medication for her arthritis.

"Her quality of life is definitely improved," Kersten said.

Best is a chiropractor who usually treats people, but started seeing a different clientele, five years ago.

"I treat cats, dogs, I've treated a duck, one client has rats, I've treated them for various problems," Best said. "It depends on what the vets find, and what they feel chiropractic care can do to help increase the animal's longevity."

Veterinarian Cynthia Mather recommended the treatments for elderly animals, and those suffering from arthritis, disc problems or neck problems.

"Typically, we get to a point with arthritis patients, trauma patients, hit by car patients, where if we've got orthopedic injuries, we reach the point where medical modalities don't work anymore, or maybe we just need something else," Mather said.

Mather said many of her clients were skeptical at first, but she said the practice is winning over a growing number of pet owners.

"Even in animal medicine, I believe more and more people are looking for other ways to treat themselves, treat their own problems without automatically going the medical route," Mather said.

"Anything to keep her from having any pain is great in my book," Kersten said.

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