Emmy, a dog from Floyd County whose leg was amputated due to cancer, gets a new lease on life with acupuncture therapy.
Emmy's been through a lot the past few years, so her owners wanted to give her some relief. She got it, with the help of needles.
You don't know triumph until you know struggle, and few dogs have struggled like Emmy. Two-and-a-half years ago, doctors found cancer in Emmy's front left leg.
“It was worst case scenario every step of the way,” dog owner Sarah Jones said.Rob and Sarah Jones of Floyd County had to choose the dog or the leg.
“That was a really hard decision to make for our 10-year-old dog but our vet said 'if it was my dog I would do it,’” Sarah said.
At first, not much changed.
“She walked to the car the day after surgery and a month later she was doing absolutely everything she was doing before. She had three legs to work with and she just worked with them,” Sarah said.
After a while Emmy started slowing down, so the Joneses called veterinarian Anne Simms to fix the problem. Simms is not your normal vet; she specializes in animal acupuncture. The Joneses came to her seeking help for Emmy.
“They were noticing that she was not quite wanting to go on walks, quite as active, having some issues with the stairs, getting in and out of the car,” Simms said.
Simms says the needles relax Emmy.
“We usually leave them in about 15 minutes relieving her stress and pain. I think the greatest benefit is just quality of life for the patients,” Simms said.
The Joneses swear there is something to this.
“She is a dog that likes to get out and run and sniff and walk, and to keep her quality of life better in that way is huge,” Sarah said.
And huge is the difference a few needle pricks has made for Emmy. Even bigger is the difference it has made for her owners.
“She is a constant reminder just to be with her every day and enjoy her every day and life in general,” Sarah said.
In most cases, the bigger the struggle, the bigger the triumph.
