Veterinary Surgeon An-si Li
Street Talk In addition to western medicine, veterinary surgeon Dr. Ann-si Li offers acupuncture to her furred and feathered patients. She talks to June Ng about alternative therapy for pets.
HK Magazine: What’s so special about veterinary acupuncture?
Dr. Ann-si Li: Just like alternative therapy for humans, pet acupuncture is a method used when animals do not respond to regular treatment. It’s especially effective for treating chronic pain, traumatic injuries, muscle and tendon strains and sprains, disposition problems, immune-deficiencies, and most commonly, deterioration in older animals. But it’s not just about putting needles in your pets; we also give them herbal medicine as well as a package of traditional Chinese medicine.
HK: You were brought up in the States. Why did you look into TCM?
AL: When I was a kid, I always identified more with the label “American” rather than “Asian,” but after I went to veterinary school, I spoke to my uncle, a neurosurgeon, about acupuncture. I decided that it was time to look into my own ethnic background and study acupuncture.
HK: What’s the history behind animal acupuncture?
AL: Veterinary acupuncture spread to the west many years ago. A French soldier who was also a vet went to China with his troops and learnt about veterinary acupuncture. You know, the Chinese have had veterinary acupuncture for thousand of years but we normally reserve it for larger animals. When the vet returned back to France, he started to perform acupuncture on smaller animals, and the technique eventually spread to the States.
HK: Can veterinary acupuncture be applied to non-mammals?
AL: It can be applied to birds as well. I even performed acupuncture on a turtle once. It had a poor appetite and wasn’t eating at all, so I put a needle on a spot on his hind leg, and viola! It started eating again. But that's an exceptional case; I normally just perform acupuncture on mammals.
HK: Are you trained to use needles on humans as well, considering that human beings are also animals?
AL: The needles that we use on the animals are actually the same as those for humans, and to comfort the pet owners I use a special meter to locate the correct points. But basically, the principles are the same, so theoretically it’s possible. But there’s a heated debate going on about the licensing of acupuncturists in the States and whether human acupuncturists should be allowed to practice on animals and vice versa.
HK: Any last word for pet owners?
AL: You really have to love your pet and treat it as part of your family. You have to know that your pets love you a lot, and that you should respect them and communicate with them. Even though they can’t understand our language, the message will get through.
