If you are tired of the endless futile trips to the vet to treat your dog’s arthritis or skin problem, traditional medicine might be just the thing for you. As I interview city-based integrative veterinarian, Juliet Decaestecker, she tells me about her older dog, Illy. “He’s just recovering from a tumour. It was much bigger last week, but the acupuncture has made it smaller,” says the 35-year-old who combines allopathy with traditional Chinese medicine. Juliet has performed acupuncture on several animals, including elephants, horses and cows, for skin problems, anxiety, arthritis and more, but the most challenging clients, she says, are the spoiled pets. “They just won’t stay still!”.
A member of the International Veterinarian Acupuncture Society, she moved to Chennai from Brussels last year when her husband, Jean-Francois was appointed as the trade commissioner at the Belgian Consulate.
Around the world
Her journey into the world of alternative healing began when she, along with Francois, took a 1,20,000 km road trip from 2008-2011 to volunteer with wildlife conservation centres in Vietnam, Thailand and Australia. They travelled for over 40 months and tended to exotic species like gibbons, wallabies, bears, and also horses, pigs and cows. On returning, she started studying about indigenous healing methods. “I am not an alternative vet. If necessary, I will do blood tests or X-Rays. But if someone comes in with an animal whose eyes are watering, I won’t just use a cream, but look into the root cause,” says Juliet, explaining how acupuncture, though effective, is not magic. If the problem is minor, it may only take a couple of sessions, but if the problem is chronic, it can take weeks, or even months to set right.
Food is medicine
Ju liet, who now works as a referral vet with The Ark Veterinary Clinic, is candid about the challenges she faces. “In most cases, the dog comes to us when there is literally no other way to go, by which time their bodies have already taken on too many antibiotics.” She has used acupuncture to treat diseases like cancer, arthritis and even autoimmune diseases. Food, she says, is medicine. Her work as a food therapist involves prescribing diets based on the animal’s breed, physique, age and vulnerabilities, along with Chinese and local herbs, like neem and nilavembu .
Neena Ajith, whose cat Duke is one of Juliet’s clients, noted a difference in the first session. “I changed the diets for all my nine cats and they have never been healthier.” Telugu actor Lakshmi Manchu recalls how she went looking for alternative therapy when her dog, Zeus, couldn’t run due to the heavy antibiotics he had been taking for his allergies and anxiety issues. “Acupuncture and Chinese medicine worked best. It’s incredible, how much calmer and more active they are even after one session. The change was really rewarding,” says Manchu.
For details, mail Juliet at decaestecker.juliet@gmail.com
