|
On the spot, that made a convert out of Giggleman. He went on to co-found the Parker University animal chiropractic program. "Chiropractic care is a drugless, nonsurgical approach to treating animals," Giggleman said. And, he added, much cheaper than traditional medicine with its surgeries and drugs. Giggleman spends most of his time teaching but still sees patients one day a week. Ninety percent of his patients need chiropractic care and 10 percent need traditional care, he said. "I'm not an extremist either way. I am for whatever fixes your dog," he said. Leslie Means, the AVCA director, had a show dog, an 85-pound Siberian husky who was trained in hand signals. "She misread a signal and jumped off the front porch. There was a 10-foot drop," she said. X-rays were negative for broken bones but the dog cried constantly. After seeing six vets and finding no relief for the dog, Means found the nearest animal chiropractor and made an appointment. Means drove eight hours to get there, and after the appointment, the dog walked out of the office and jumped into the back seat of the car without so much as a whimper. When Giggleman started teaching a course on how to adjust animals over a decade ago, the bulk of his students were chiropractors. "Now, for the first time, we are seeing more veterinarians than chiropractors," he said. "There is no cure-all discipline," he said. "Chiropractic is complementary care. There are times when pets need surgery."
Animals often get more out of chiropractic care than humans, he said. "Animals don't lie. They are either better or not. They are very demonstrative with their adjustments. They don't have all the mental trash we deal with on a daily basis. They hold their adjustments better because they don't have all the stress we have." Pet owners will know when their animals need an adjustment if they pay attention, said Giggleman, who now teaches full time, is semiretired and sees patients one afternoon a week after 31 years of practice. About once a month, a pet owner will come in and say, "If you can't do anything, I will have to put my pet to sleep." He said he's able to save 80 percent of those animals. For the others, "we get the animals out of some of the pain they are in and help the owners work through the whole issue as they prepare to part with their beloved pets." There is a double blessing for those he saves, Giggleman said, "because not only are you making the pet better, but saving a life." ___ Online:
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor