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ARTICLES
- Rhode Island Monthly, July 2002 |
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The Good Doctor
Alternative Medicine
Liz Hassinger
General practitioner: trained by the International Veterinary
Acupuncture Society
At nineteen, Earl, a placid Doberman-mix, is almost
off the charts in dog years, but he looks pretty comfy, sacked
out across a comforter waiting for his weekly acupuncture treatment.
You might feel relaxed too, given the soft background
music, the dim lights and the soothing essence of Bach flowers
spray that floats lightly in the air at Liz Hassinger's clinic.
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Photography by Patrick O'Connor
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They're all designed to help Earl, whose severe arthrits
has weakended his back
end, to mellow out.
Hassinger graduated from Tufts University School of
Veterinary Medicine and trained for four years at the Renaissance
Institute of Classical Homeopathy in Boston. She says that while
some vets pooh-pooh alternative therapies, vet medicine has embraced
these treatmens more than human medicine has. "I got into it",
she says, "because I saw how well it worked."
Evidently her clients, who also come from Connecticut
and Massachusetts, agree. New patients with chronic diseases wait
three to six months to get an appointment, and Hassinger gives them
a conventional work-up before trying less traditional treatments
such as veterinary spinal manipulative therapy, herbal medicien
and homeopathic medicines. "When I was first pregnant ten years
ago, I wanted to stay healthy and I started learning about alternative
remedies for myself," she says. "Then I realized I should
treat my patients the same way." Wolfrock Animal Health
Center, Exeter. 294-0102
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