Alternative Medicine
PATHWAYS TO WELLNESS
Dr. Cobb’s second love is alternative medicine. In the early 2000s, while performing spay/neuter surgeries at countless shelters, Dr. Cobb began her alternative medicine studies. She continues to offer chiropractic, acupuncture and Chinese herbal care under the practice name of Pathways to Wellness. Appointments are limited to Thursdays as she focuses most of her attention on optimizing spay/neuter care at Ace of Spays.
If you are interested in an appointment or more information, please call the office Monday-Friday between 9am and 5pm at 609-267-6770.
Non-Force Chiropractic $89 per session
Dr. Cobb finds chiropractic work extremely gratifying. Though it doesn’t help everyone, it can make life saving changes in the lives of dogs with subluxated vertebrae. Subluxated vertebrae cause severe pain that is often misdiagnosed as disc disease. Dogs with this condition often respond with a single treatment, arriving shivering in pain and leaving with wagging tails.
The gentle technique used at Pathways to Wellness will do no harm. Dr. Cobb can show you just how gentle it is before proceeding.
Acupuncture $125 for basic acupuncture (1st session is a consult for an additional $300)
Acupuncture is very useful for musculoskeletal issues like IVDD, hip dysplasia, and arthritis and has also significantly helped the quality of life of pets with gastrointestinal and kidney diseases. We also use acupuncture for anxiety disorders and skin issues with varying degrees of success.
There are two things to keep in mind before scheduling your first acupuncture session.
- Dr. Cobb is traditionally trained in acupuncture, meaning she takes into account the full spectrum of each pets needs from personality to health issues. Her point formulas are aimed at treating the immediate concern and bringing your pets energy into balance. To do this well, she requires an hour consultation prior to acupuncture appointments. The first acupuncture treatment can occur immediately following the consultation.
- Acupuncture does not have an immediate effect. Please plan to come weekly for at least 4 sessions. At that time, Dr. Cobb will discuss discontinuing treatment, continuing treatment and/or spreading treatment intervals. She tends to treat weekly until pets reach a plateau and then extend the intervals between treatments to maintain the results.
Chinese Herbals (1st session $300 plus the cost of herbs, follow up sessions $89)
Dr. Cobb requires an hour consultation prior to dispensing Chinese herbals with periodic 30-minute recheck appointments to assess whether changes are needed.
Chinese herbals can be used for any disease process with varying degrees of success. Often a combination of conventional medications and Chinese herbals works best but with some conditions, Chinese herbs can replace the need for conventional medications that tend to have more side effects. The two most common uses of Chinese herbals are to help alleviate musculoskeletal pain and to help decrease the speed of growth of cancer.
There are some conditions where conventional medications are far superior to herbs. These include diabetes, hyperthyroidism and seizure disorders, though herbs are sometimes used to decreases the doses of conventional medications needed for seizure relief.
Former Primary Care Clients
We no longer act as a primary care veterinarian. Your records are in safe keeping at Audubon Family vets. You can continue care there or you can request they forward records to the primary care veterinarian by clicking the link below.