After about the third or fourth acupuncture session with Dr. Yamate, it was obvious that the treatment was working. Bruno’s back end had tightened up and he was no longer swaying when he walked. I cannot describe his gate as being effortless or fluid but then again, he was no longer a kid.
At this point, I had completely changed his diet and we had both adjusted to the new meal requirements and routine. Bruno had never shown any signs of pain before acupuncture so I could only assume that we were doing a good job of managing any discomfort with the herbal supplements.
Acupuncture appointments were always positive and Bruno enjoyed them. He got a car ride, received a lot of attention from the staff at the clinic, and left with a full tummy from all of the dog cookies. Dr. Yamate gave Bruno a lot of attention in the beginning and worked hard to earn his trust. This really impressed me and I felt that she really cared about giving Bruno the best treatment possible. Dr. Yamate’s efforts and personal attention to Bruno were rewarded as the big guy began to enthusiastically greet her. As he became more comfortable with her, he let down his guard and began to display his sweet and quirky personality. I probably did too.
Dr. Yamate was pleased with Bruno’s progress and determined we could start to stretch out our time in-between appointments. This was a good sign. Bruno responded well to Dr. Yamate’s treatment plan. Now it was a matter of maintaining his weight which was down and fluctuating between a lean and mean ninety-three to ninety-five pounds, changing up his herbal supplements, keeping him physically active and doing acupuncture stimulation once every three to four weeks.
The goal now was to maintain the progress we had achieved and possibly try to squeeze out some more improvement. I quickly learned that Dr. Yamate’s strategy for battling Bruno’s Degenerative Myelopathy was to be aggressive and not become complacent.
With Dr. Yamate’s guidance, I felt confident the forecast for Bruno’s summer looked sunny and bright.
*Originally posted May 11, 2010*
