What was recommended in this situation was surgery; an estimated cost for the surgery was $6-7 thousand dollars and only has a 50% success rate. Since financially this was not an option for me, and there was only a 50% chance for Onyx to improve, I decided to take him home.
My veterinarian prescribed a steroid medication for Onyx which I decided not to use as I was concerned about the side-effects.
I immediately called my friend, who is a homeopath, and she prescribed three homeopathic remedies which I started right away. Onyx also received some reiki treatment from another friend of mine. Four weeks after the injury, there was little change in Onyx’s situation. He was still unable to walk and use his hind legs although there was some response when I was touching his toes.
One of my friends recommended trying acupuncture for disc disease since studies have shown it is very helpful in paralyzed dogs. She also suggested The Holistic Veterinary Clinic in Newmarket. Upon the first visit, Dr. Haghighat did a full physical exam and mentioned that he personally had lots of good results with acupuncture and paralyzed dogs, and that there was a good chance that we could make Onyx walk again in about 1-2 months.
Onyx was started on acupuncture treatments with biopuncture as well as a Chinese herb (Double P) and a homeopathic mix. Treatments were repeated every 2 weeks for 3 treatments. After the 3rd treatment, Onyx was steadily gaining more strength, and was beginning to walk, although he was crossing his legs and still unstable.
Over time, Onyx's gait started to slowly improve. Now, Onyx is going for long walks with the rest of the pack! On April 7, 2014 he went on a 3 km walk! I am so thankful that I took my friend’s advice and started acupuncture treatment at North East Newmarket Veterinary Services!"
Onyx's mom
