From The South End News
Boston MA

Freeing Fido’s chi
Chris Orchard

It may be Year of the Pig, but here in the South End, 2007 has become a year for the dogs. Dogs will soon have a new outdoor play space at Peters Park, the first officially-sanctioned dog run in Boston, approved last month. An aquatics program for dogs recently opened in the suburbs, and may move to the South End within the next year. The newest addition to the neighborhood’s canine service economy is doggie acupuncture, which came to the South End earlier this month.

Now, once a week, neighborhood dog owners can take their beloved pooches to the DoggieDay Playcenter at 400 Tremont St. for acupuncture and nutrition advice.

Jeanie Marie Kraft, a licensed acupuncturist for both humans and dogs, runs her business, Four Paws Acupuncture, out of Salem, where she lives, but decided it was time to expand into Boston.

It’s no surprise she ended up in the South End, one of the most dog-loving neighborhoods in the city. Starting March 1, Kraft has set up shop at DoggieDay every Thursday. Now that spring is here (if only technically) owners taking their dogs out for long walks may discover their dogs limping or struggling to move around. This is where doggie acupuncture might help out.

Kraft got into the canine acupuncture business while she was in graduate school in California learning about acupuncture for humans. “I had a German shepherd named Merlin, and he was in pretty bad shape,” she said. Merlin was 13 years old and had hip problems. One day, Kraft introduced Merlin to her acupuncture teacher “who showed me how to work on him,” she said.

Merlin, an old dog by then, didn’t suddenly become a young sprite, but with treatment he was able to do things he previously couldn’t, such as go for walks along the beach. “He just perked up,” said Kraft, and he lived to be 15, which is old for a German shepherd.

After seeing what happened to Merlin, “I just started working on every dog I could,” said Kraft. She’s been working on dogs for a decade now, treating them with acupuncture and herbs, but also teaching about nutrition. In addition to running Four Paws Acupuncture, she sometimes teaches canine nutrition at Salem State College.

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Jeanie Marie Kraft, Lic.Ac. is keeping tails wagging on the North Shore of MA with K9 acupuncture house-calls. Jeanie is also treating dogs with acupuncture at the DoggieDay Play Center in Boston.Visit FourPawsAcupuncture.com for more information.

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