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The first thing you’ll notice when you take your pet to the holistic wellness center at Hawks Prairie Veterinary Hospital is what’s not there: a lobby. That’s intentional. According to research, the most stressful area of any animal hospital is not the surgical room or the recovery area, but the lobby. “We check you in and check you out right in your own exam room,” says Dr. Kim Martin. “When you’re done, you can walk out. You don’t have to stand at the counter and watch your dog barking at a cat.”

holistic veterinary
Every dog that visits the Hawks Prairie Veterinary Hospital gets a treat, whether it’s a fleece square, a toy, or a tennis ball.

The integrative center, located on the floor below the main practice, is both holistic and fear-free, meaning every effort is made to reduce anxiety and make the experience as pleasant as possible for animals. Since opening in October 2015, Martin and her colleagues, Dr. Heather McEvoy and Dr. Samantha Rose, have been offering acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, and both western and Chinese herbs to pet owners who want an alternative to standard veterinary medicine.

Holistic medicine will work for anything, Martin emphasizes. “If a dog gets hit by a car, if you cat has Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or if your pet has asthma, all of those can be treated holistically.”

As an example, it’s common for dachshunds to lose the use of their back legs after blowing out a disc in their backs. “They come in and sometimes they’ve either been down for a year or it’s just been a couple of days,” says Martin. “We start by treating them with massage and acupuncture as well as electrical stimulation. We’re refiring those neurons.” The physical therapy prevents the muscles from atrophying. “If we get the nerves working but there’s no muscle to stand on, that means nothing,” she says. “It’s really a multi-modal effect.”

Next, they might use herb support, whether eastern or western, to encourage the neurons to re-vascularize. “It’s a combination of nutritional support, acupuncture, and lifestyle management,” says Martin. “We tell owners, ‘Don’t let them jump off the couch any more.’ Through all of that, we can get them to walk again. We’ve done it many times.”

holistic veterinarian
The Hawks Prairie Veterinary Hospital offers acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, and muscle stimulation for damaged nerves, as seen here.

In one extreme case, a couple brought in their 80-pound husky who had lost the use of his back legs. They’d been told to euthanize the dog, but decided to seek out one final option through alternative medicine. “We used acupuncture on that dog, and he literally walked out the door,” says Martin. “He came in on a sling and he walked out the door.”

She continued to treat the dog for another eight years. “He wasn’t the most graceful walker,” she grants. “He looked like he’d had a little too much to drink, but he was up on his legs and chasing his friends.”

Some clients are initially skeptical of holistic medicine. “We get those clients who say, ‘My wife told me to come here but I really don’t believe it,’” says Martin. “I tell them, ‘I’m going to help you understand this very scientifically.’ But if they want to hear about the energy and the chi flow, we can talk about that because I have training in both types of acupuncture. You get those who are very cynical and do not believe, but by the time they’re here, they’re usually willing to let you try.”

The fear-free environment is also an important part of the practice. Every animal who visits leaves with a treat, kind of the equivalent of leaving the dentist’s office with a lollipop. “We give a tennis ball to every dog who wants one,” says Martin. “We’ll give them a fleece square or a toy to keep them engaged and happy.”

holistic veterinarian
Animals can eat as many treats as they want during procedures like nail clipping or blood draws, creating positive reinforcement.

For some dogs, the treat means food. When the time comes to draw blood or trim toenails, it may require something extra. “If a dog wants to eat 20 treats during their toenail trim and that makes them happy and not struggle, they can eat the 20 treats,” she says. “If this is a puppy, through positive reinforcement, we now have the next 16 years of a dog who’s not afraid of getting his toenails trimmed.”

The integrative clinic even plays music specifically designed for dogs called ‘Into the Dog’s Ear.’ “They did studies at animal shelters, kennels, and research facilities where they have a lot of dogs,” says Martin. “They played all different kinds of music and it turned out that this was the most soothing for dogs, so we have it playing here all the time.”

Cats, meanwhile, benefit from a cat phermone and furniture especially designed for them.

“We have furniture that can be washed that they can hide in,” she says. “We don’t ask that they get on the table with us. We get on the floor with them.”

Clients who already have a regular veterinarian can still bring their pets in for specific treatments. “We work in concert with the client who has a vet that they love and adore but whose animal may just need some acupuncture or chiropractic treatment,” says Martin. “We’ll take them in, communicate with their primary veterinarian, and send a record back to them. You don’t have to pick one or the other.”

holistic veterinarian
Since the lobby is often the most stressful area in any clinic, the center has no waiting area. Instead, pets are checked in and out in their own rooms.

Martin has always been interested in alternative medicine, but when she graduated from veterinary school in 1997, the industry was still very mainstream. “At the time I was told, ‘You can’t do that. It’s not smart to spend your professional development on that,’” she says. “I did it anyway. Now the industry is moving this way because that’s what clients are looking for.”

For more information about Hawks Prairie Veterinary Hospital, visit hawksprairieveterinaryhospital.com or call 360-459-6556.

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