It strikes me how our pets are such an important part of our lives. They are calming, accepting of, and uplifting to us. My family has had our dog for five years and he seems like another child to me, with some simplified needs and easy, unconditional affection for each of us. I see that the health of our pets truly impacts our own stress levels and well being. Central Vermont is lucky to have a local veterinarian who specializes in acupuncture. I’ve asked Dr. Erika Bruner a few questions below to share her perspective.
Please tell us what your veterinary practice is like.
After 16 years as a primary-care vet, I shifted the focus of my practice which is now limited to acupuncture and end-of life care (all for pets, of course!). Most of my patients are elderly pets with a lot of chronic challenges like arthritis, digestive problems, sleep issues, and other ongoing concerns. I also have some younger patients in my acupuncture practice who have acute pain and trauma from spinal disc disease or knee injuries and the like. Obviously I’m using acupuncture to treat those guys; in the end-of-life care part of the practice, I do use some conventional medications for hospice-type comfort care, and can use acupuncture if people wish. I’m also often called out just for a housecall for home euthanasia. I’d say my primary tool in end-of-life care is my ears, since listening to people is the most important thing I do.
What is unique about how you care for animals?
I have a lot of faith in conventional medicine for many purposes, but it no longer calls to me as a practice. I really love practicing acupuncture and comfort care. I have always had a strong feeling for older pets and as a conventional vet I was on the less-is-more side, in terms of interventions, so working without medication in acupuncture is comfortable to me. I also have always valued listening to how people feel about what’s going on with their pet, and now I finally have enough time to really give each pet and each family my full attention!
Why did you pursue the additional specialty of acupuncture for your patients?
I got interested in acupuncture, as many do, after my own experience being treated with it. I had bad tennis elbow pain for about two years, and conventional therapy didn’t help, but acupuncture did. I also was surprised to find that it was helpful with other issues I had had for years, like poor sleep, mood, and digestion. Then, when I started studying Chinese medicine, I really liked the whole-creature approach to wellness, the idea of seeing and shifting imbalances in the whole being as a path to health.
Do you somehow relate veterinary health care to human health care?
Yes, in many ways! For one thing, dogs and cats and other mammals are physiologically similar to humans, so it’s no surprise that many of the medications and techniques we use in
human medicine are also applicable to animals. And in another way, our modern stressful lifestyles as humans are the cause of many of our current health problems. We pass those stresses on to the animals who live with us— especially dogs, who have done jobs for us for thousands of years. Now, as pets, we no longer ask them to herd cattle or hunt prey; now they often seem to take on the responsibility of caring for us. Cats do this too, but having been domesticated for only about 3,000 years, it’s less obvious to us as humans than it is with dogs, who have been living with us for tens of thousands of years.
What do you love about veterinary care?
I get a lot of meaning and deep joy from working right at the heart of the love that we humans share with our pets. It’s never more obvious than at the end of life, where people are really struggling with how to take good care of their pets at a very challenging and painful (and yet very meaningful) time. I just want to help people navigate this in a way that affirms their caring for their pets. And with acupuncture, I love that it’s a new way (for me, as a conventionally-trained vet) to look at health and to help pets be as happy, energetic, and comfortable as possible. There’s a lifetime more learning there for me.
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Dr. Bruner graduated from vet school at Tufts University in 2001 and has been in practice in Central Vermont since 2002. Her phone number is 8 02-552-8224 and website at www.heartofvermontvet.com .