The Associated Press

COLDWATER - Veterinarian Ron Anders slipped stainless steel needles up and down the spine of C.J., a 3-year-old Schnauzer, as the dog trembled on the exam table.

C.J., who suffered heart, liver and kidney imbalances, finally relaxed and let Anders complete the acupuncture procedure.

The veterinarian combines traditional Chinese medical techniques with his Western ways to come up with an approach he says treats the whole animal, not just its symptoms.

"With the use of acupuncture, I see results quickly," Anders said. "The owners are happy, and the patients are happy."

Anders became interested in acupuncture after his back was injured in a traffic accident in January 2000 and he turned to the technique for relief from his own pain.

"The pain was gone in a matter of minutes, and the relief lasted quite a long time," Anders recalled. "I thought, if it works for me, it has to work for my patients."

Anders enrolled in a course offered by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and learned how to locate acupuncture points in animals.

"When I finished the course, came back here and tried to explain some of this to my staff, they looked at me like I had two heads," he said.

Although elective courses in veterinary acupuncture are offered at Ohio State University, only 13 Ohio veterinarians are members of the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society.

Carolyn Schmidt, of Ansonia, is a believer now that she has seen what acupuncture treatments did for her Doberman, Tucker.

The dog had been hit by a car. Tucker couldn't walk when he was brought to Anders.

"I was ready to try anything to help him," Schmidt said.

She said her dog began walking again soon after the treatments. The animal died in December, but Schmidt said his final years were healthier and happier.

More skeptical, but still willing to keep trying acupuncture on his dairy cows is Terry Stammen, of New Weston.

"It's not 100 percent, but it has its place," Stammen said. "I've seen it work on cows with problems that antibiotics haven't been able to help."

"Some people laugh about it or make fun of it. It's something old that's new to us," he said. "If it works for me, that's all I'm going to worry about."