She enters with her owner’s assistance. She has degenerative disc disease, so there are bulging discs along her spine that are damaging nerves. A sling made from a T-shirt supports her hind end as she independently pulls forward.

Ari is an 11-year-old mutt, paretic, weak, but not paralyzed. Due to Ari’s multiple health problems, her owners chose not to put her through surgery and looked instead for an alternate way to relieve the pain.

One alternative for Ari is acupuncture.

Dr. Karen Kline, a certified veterinary acupuncturist, treats Ari on a weekly basis. Ari isn’t fond of needles, so Kline uses a cold laser to treat her. Her owners say she benefits from the treatments, which are very similar to needle acupuncture, and say they can see a marked difference in her behavior and disposition.

Acupuncture began more than 3,500 years ago in China based around the theory that disease occurs when there is an imbalance within the internal environment or between the internal and external environments.

It wasn’t until the last century that acupuncture became more acceptable to Western society.

Eastern thought contends that many components, including Yin/Yang, the concept of Chi, and a series of meridians, work together within the body.

The meridians are like electronic pathways racing throughout the body and are at the core of treatment, Kline says.

The 14 meridians encompass the entire body and make up a road map; it is how parts of the body communicate. There are hundreds of points along these meridians that are linked to body functions.

Kline is just one of the many veterinarians who are taking a more holistic approach to their patients and applying to animals alternative medical practices that have been used on humans for centuries. Acupuncture is growing in popularity in veterinary schools as well as in public awareness.

In 1998, the American Veterinary Medical Association reported that acupuncture was an “integral part of veterinary medicine” and the techniques were “surgical and/or medical procedures.”

Dr. Gary Van Engelenburg, a veterinarian who operates the Iowa Veterinary Acupuncture Clinic in Clive, says he tries to choose the treatment that is best for the patient, whether that is traditional Western medicine or a different holistic technique.

“Western medicine is great for emergencies, but I can do a better job using the holistic approach,” he says. “All I did for 18 years was traditional medicine. As I started introducing acupuncture, I was able to do things I couldn’t ever do before.”

Kline says it is about improving the state of the patient by using whatever means possible.

“The main reason we do acupuncture is to relieve pain and make them feel better over all, or if they have a nonsurgical condition that can be corrected,” says Kline, a veterinary neurologist at Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Kline and Van Engelenburg are two of the fewer than 10 certified veterinary acupuncturists in Iowa. Acupuncture, as one modality of alternative, holistic medicine, can be used to treat everything for allergies to renal failure, Van Engelenburg says.

“All the bodies systems will respond in varying degrees,” Kline says. It can also be used after surgery to speed recovery time.

During treatments, Kline goes into a quiet room with the owner so the animal stays calm. The animal is not sedated and is allowed some motion during the treatment.

For Ari’s session, Kline presses a small probe against the skin in several areas along the spine and down her hind legs. The soft hum of the machine fills the dimly lit room. The machine – about the size of a toaster – with multiple cords, buttons and flashing lights, beeps every so many seconds as Kline moves the pen-like device that extends from the corded bag to another point: Bladder 11, Bladder 13, Gall Bladder 29, Triple Heater 5.

Bladder 18, the association point for the liver

“You may get a sharp tingling sensation when you enter that point. And it may travel all the way up your arm,” Kline says as she taps the Seirin needle – a Chinese brand of acupuncture needle — into her right hand in front of the ISU American Veterinary Holistic Club. She is conducting an informal seminar to expose the 65 students who attended to veterinary acupuncture.

“I felt that, that little zing,” she says. “You gently tap into that point. You may feel some numbness,” she adds, recommending that even the brave take a seat before inserting the small flexible needle into the skin on the hand.

There is a distal point on each hand between the thumb and first finger where a V is formed that is associated with the head, Kline explains. Even though it is not located near the head, the tissue under that spot is linked to it by meridians.

The eager guinea pigs insert the needles and wait for a reaction.

“Oooh. You can feel that.”

“That works.”

The needles are left in 15 to 20 minutes depending on the desired response. The longer the needles are left in, the more sedating the effect, she says.

“The effect you see [in animals] when it is working varies. These guys become a little bit more passive. They may stop panting. They seem a lot more relaxed. Their nose will run. They will yawn. It is really cool to see.”

Mind-set is key.

“If you are an acupuncturist and you are doing acupuncture on an animal and you are freaked out, it is not going to work. Usually I do my acupuncture on days when I am not running around like a chicken with my head cut off. It really makes a difference,” Kline says.

As more group members try, fascination increases and courage allows some to try another acupoint below the knee, known as Stomach 36. It is a distal point associated with organs in the abdominal cavity.

“Sometimes the needles will get stuck and you really have to work them out, especially if the animal has a lot of muscle,” she says, “You will see them move, and it is really weird.”

Triple Heater 5, the association point for neck pain

Michelle Brim, a certified acupuncturist and licensed veterinarian working in Webster County, has been practicing a number of alternative modalities in addition to traditional medicine in her practice.

“People that come to me are people who want alternatives. I may suggest holistic options to a client when they have nowhere else to turn,” Brim says, adding that she uses it primarily with cases where Western medicine has nothing to offer.

“They are not diseases you are going to cure,” she says, citing disorders such as cancer and arthritis. However, that doesn’t mean the animal’s quality of life could not be improved by reducing their dependence on medication for example.

Kline has one patient who no longer takes anti-inflammatory drugs, which caused weight gain, because of the success of laser acupuncture treatments.

Elli, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who had severe neck pain, was diagnosed with inflammation of the fluid surrounding the spinal cord at six months of age. Now 4 years old, she receives monthly laser acupuncture treatments on eight acupoints on each side of her body and no longer takes any regular medication.

Becky Briggle, Eli’s owner, says, “If she is two weeks late, she starts showing signs of needing it.” The discomfort is apparent when Eli acts “kind of dopey, droopy.”

Briggle says she has never tried acupuncture on herself.

“We were ready to try about anything, and Dr. Kline suggested that we try acupuncture, so we gave it a shot. It was amazing,” Briggle says, adding that she feels it has really prolonged Elli’s life.

Stomach 36, association point for the abdomen

Even though the American Veterinary Medical Association says acupuncture is a legitimate treatment, there are still dissenters.

“The problem with all of this alternative, complementary medicine is that sometimes it lacks – or there is a perceived lack – of scientific evidence that it works,” Kline says. “There are a lot of long-range studies demonstrating the efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment, but not everyone believes that it works. . It has not been proven in all circumstances. It is not black and white. Some people want scientific proof.”

Adam Christman, ISU Veterinary Holistic Club president, says there are many veterinarians who use exclusively and strongly support traditional medicine.

“A lot of the vets in the profession say, `Hey, where is the science behind it?’ ” he says. “It is one of the major obstacles. . It is a controversy within the profession.”

Kline says there are going to be skeptics everywhere.

“Before I started doing it, I was very skeptical, and I thought it was a bunch of hooey,” she says. “Once you start doing it and see the results and you look at the theories behind it then it helps you figure out that it is a recognized treatment.”

Van Engelenburg says he could empathize with some of the critics and that he began to study it out of curiosity.

“I didn’t believe in it. Then I started to see results,” he says, noting that acupuncture is a highly tested healing technique because it has evolved through the centuries. “Western Medicine is in its infancy.”

He also challenges those who say it is a placebo that makes the owner feel as though they are taking action.

“How could it be a placebo effect? You can psych out a human. But when [an animal] feels better, if feels better. There is no way there can be a placebo affect in animals,” he says.

Kline says some of the controversy and suspicion surrounding acupuncture as a valid treatment exists because there is no governing body and veterinary acupuncturists don’t have to be certified to practice it.

“It is like anything else,” she says. “You need to be trained properly. There are a lot of people out there who call themselves acupuncturists and have not taken the course. All they have done is read the textbook and then stick needles in places. That is not the best way to do stuff.”

Dr. Jan Bergeron, a licensed veterinarian focused on alternative healing techniques, says there are people out there who are misusing acupuncture on animals and that people need to report them.

“I am sure there are people out there claiming to be acupuncturists able to treat animals,” he says. Each state has different laws but anyone who is claiming to medically treat an animal and charging a fee for it is considered a veterinarian and thus must have a license to practice in that state – whether it be acupuncture or something as invasive as surgery.

Ed Boldt, executive director of the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, says the lack of a governing body shouldn’t affect its validity. Every state has veterinary practice, laws and to do acupuncture on an animal without being a veterinarian would be illegal. The practitioner would face fines or other penalties.

People should be careful to check credentials to ensure their animal is getting proper treatment, no matter how noninvasive it is, Bergeron says, though “I find it difficult to envision a situation where using acupuncture would potentially constitute anything in the way of malpractice.

“One advantage of acupuncture is that you can’t really do a lot of damage,” he says. “You would certainly do more damage with surgery. The only draw back might be that the patient would not respond to the treatment.”

Bladder 13, association point for the lung

Despite any controversy about its validity or safety, interest in holistic techniques is clearing rising among students, Christman says. This year, the holistic club has more than 80 members – up considerably from the few dozen members last year. This is high considering there are approximately 400 students in the veterinary college.

Christman says he is considering pursuing a career as a veterinarian who only practices holistic medicine, but right now he is focusing on traditional learning and incorporating the holistic techniques, as Kline is doing.

He says most of the people who visit a veterinarian with an interest in holistic techniques have had some experience with them already. Many of the owners have used chiropractic or acupuncture techniques themselves and have seen results.

The club organizes sessions to keep students aware of what is available and to keep up with the growing interest, Christman says.

Kline says one long-range goal for Iowa State’s veterinary college is to create an elective course that focuses on holistic, alternative medicine. The class would be a broad overview and would not approach the scholarly requirements that are needed for certification.

Boldt, a licensed veterinarian, certified veterinary acupuncturist and certified veterinary chiropractor, says classes for veterinary acupuncture certification are only offered at two universities – Colorado State and Tufts University – beyond the IVAS training program. He says many of the students who take courses at those universities, take the IVAS test to be IVAS certified.

Bladder 20, the association point for the spleen

This form of treatment is not a panacea, Brim says; it doesn’t solve every problem or work on every patient. Patients have to be chosen carefully.

Kline agrees.

“You have to go through a system of treating your patients to see if you get a response, and it doesn’t work on every patient. You have to choose your patients correctly and wisely,” Kline says.

Many variables determine a treatment’s effectiveness and many times those variables are undeterminable. Kline says the duration of illness or even the owner’s or the veterinarian’s attitude can affect a patient’s response to a treatment. In her estimation, acupuncture yields some response more than 80 percent of the time.

Van Engelenburg, who operates the only total holistic veterinary practice in the Des Moines area since April 1999, says he has about a 90 percent success rate.

“I think if you don’t elicit any kind of a response, you probably haven’t evaluated the patient right. Nothing is 100 percent,” he says.

Like Kline, he says many factors play into the response the animal gives.

“Acupuncture is pushing energy around the body. If you don’t have any energy left, you aren’t gong to see any results. If a case is not responding the way I want, I can still tell that the animals is trying to respond, it just may not have the ability to respond anymore” because it has been ill for too long.

In the end, Kline says the purpose is the same as traditional medicine.

“It is to increase the overall well-being of the patient,” she says, no matter the method.