Has anyone used a holistic vet that they would recommend in the Austin area? Or a vet that supports integrated treatments, with normal medical processes along with stuff like acupuncture? If you're thinking of making fun of me for asking, keep moving because I'm at my wit's end here. The background, which is long and I'll try to abbreviate, is that our 5-yo lab mix, Rocket, has a couple of chronic conditions that the vet is struggling to resolve. I'll spoiler the bulk of it here.
Yada yada yada, he has to stay on pee pads or wear a diaper constantly. About half the time I have to help him stand up. He can get down the deck stairs to the back yard, but it takes him a while and even longer to get back up. He generally just seems sad. The only time he wags his tail anymore is when I see him first thing in the morning. The regular vet, who I generally like a lot, has basically given up. She referred us to A&M, so we are supposed to go there Aug 13 and meet with internal medicine. Last week, my husband took him in to check on the pneumonia and his bladder and they started dancing around the topic of end-of-life care.
I'm not a vet, and maybe I'm just in denial, but I think it's crazy to go from "everything will resolve as we wean steroids" to end of life discussions in 3 weeks for a 5-yo dog. I've heard good things about acupuncture for dogs with incontinence and back leg weakness, and I've personally had good experiences with it (for other conditions, lol), hence my question above. I would do anything for this sad baby.