Patient Testimonials

Here are a few of the letters that Dr. Verna has received from past clients:

Cheyenne's Story

In May 2009 my German Shepherd Cheyenne (who weighed 140 lbs.) was accidently hit by my other dog when he was running and playing in the yard.  She was hit from the side and it put her down on the ground.  To our surprise we realized that she could not get up and was in a tremendous amount of pain.  When we were able to get her up her back legs were folded behind her she was not able to walk or stand.  We rushed her to our vet and they were shocked at how much damage was done to her back and said they could not do anything for her.  We then contacted a prominent animal hospital in Fairfax where she was seen by a neurologist.  He basically said she would never walk again and advised us to put her down.

I could not bring myself to do this she was only 6 years old and I felt that it would be unfair not to at least try everything for her.  We brought her home and gave her the medicine the neurologist had given.  She was unable to get up to get water or to go to the bathroom so I slept on the floor beside of her and I usually stayed awake until at least 3:00 a.m. for fear that she might die.  The look in her eyes was heartbreaking and I was sure she would give up if I did not do something fast.  I knew she could not go on like this very much longer. I had told myself if I could just get her to where she could get water and food and be able to get outside to go to the bathroom I would be thankful.

I contacted Dr. Verna and took her in for acupuncture.  Dr. Verna told me that she would have Cheyenne walking again (but deep down I really did not have much hope).  I did not see any real change in Cheyenne after the first two treatments.  After the third treatment I could see a great improvement in Cheyenne, she was starting to pull herself up and I could see the determination in her eyes.  We had about six treatments done on her and with each treatment we saw a vast improvement.

Today Cheyenne is WALKING and RUNNING.  She is actually chasing my other dog and it is all I can do to keep up with her when she decides to take off running (what a great surprise for us).  I can only say one thing, if you have an animal that has been injured and can have acupuncture done on your animal and above all have it done by Dr. Verna you will not be sorry.  Dr. Verna is so dedicated, confident and compassionate in what she does that I doubt there would ever be an animal that she could not perform her magic on.  We were so very lucky to have been able to have Dr. Verna take care of Cheyenne.      
 

“Ellie” the Labrador Retriever

My older Labrador, Ellie, had terrible arthritis in her hips. She was only 9, and I was afraid we were going to have to put her to sleep because of the pain. Also, sometimes she would accidentally drop a small poop  in her bed , or near the door while waiting for someone to open it so she could go out to “do her business”.  My friend recommended we try some acupuncture sessions with Dr. Verna. I was skeptical, but I love my dog very much. Well, after the first 3 sessions of needles and chiropractic adjustments, Ellie initiated a game of fetch! She hadn’t played with her ball in months!  She also has not dropped out any poo except outdoors where it is supposed to be, ever since her first day of treatment!

After 6 treatments (Dr. Verna explained that it would take about 5 or 6 treatments before Ellie would be at her maximum level of pain control), Ellie is back to going on long walks, playing ball, and even coming upstairs to our bedroom to sleep sometimes! My husband and I are so grateful; we feel that our dog’s quality of life is now very good, and are not afraid of having to “let her go” anytime soon!! Thank God for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments! We are so glad to have our Baby feeling comfortable again! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Dr. Verna! We’ll keep giving Ellie her herbal Chinese medicine pills, and bring her back for her once a month “tune-up” treatments as long as she needs them! -Sincerely, Nancy and Allen


“Sammy” the House Rabbit

We are members of the House Rabbit Society and we have several bunnies that live in our house with us. Some of them play on the rug loose in our living room most of the day; they run to the litter pan in the corner whenever they have to “go”, like a lot of house rabbits. Well, our one bunny, Sammy, was having trouble with one of his legs.  He was hopping funny, kind of sideways.  And he sat with that leg stretched out frontwards as if it was hurting him. Also, he couldn’t seem to get it up under him comfortably to get in and out of his litter pan the right way, so he started doing his pee right in front of the box, but not in it, and leaving some of his poop pellets on the carpet near the pan. We know our Sammy, and he is very fastidious about his bathroom habits, and that is NOT like him to make a mess of the house. We don’t know if he had a fall while doing his “Bunny Binkies” (they like to jump and run and act crazy, leaping up and down and dashing around the room sometimes), or if one of the other buns had been playing too rough (he has a friend, a spayed female, Charlotte, that he plays with).

We took Sammy to see Dr. Verna on the advice of a friend who also had rabbits. She looked him over, rubbed his back and leg, and suggested some chiropractic manipulations and some acupuncture. I didn’t know how Sammy would feel about having needles stuck into his bad leg! To our surprise, he sat very still, and only jumped a little once when she put a needle into his heel. Then he cozied down on the exam table and actually yawned a huge sleepy yawn. Dr. Verna said the needles release some hormones that make the bunny relax and feel great right away; well it did! Then she massaged him and rubbed his back. She said she was adjusting him, but it was so gentle we couldn’t even tell. All I know is, it didn’t hurt him in the least. Afterwards, he was sitting up straighter and pulling his leg back under him like he should. He hopped a bit, and was going straight instead of leaning to the side.  It’s really amazing, because we live pretty far from Dr. Verna’s office (Maryland!) and can’t go down very often, so even though we weren’t able to get back there to see her for 3 weeks, he did great! He got better about making it to his litter pan right away, and there is hardly any mess outside of it now. He has only had 2 sessions, but is almost normal and even did some “Binkies” last night! I would recommend acupuncture and adjustments to any rabbit owner! We are going to take Charlotte to see Dr. Verna too, just for a check-up and to be sure she doesn’t develop any problems. Once she sees how much Sammy liked the treatment, she won’t mind it, I’m sure! Sammy says, “Thank You”, Dr. V!