Mobile vet helps pets heal with acupuncture

A Shalersville resident and longtime veterinarian hopes to heal pets with the help of acupuncture and other eastern veterinary medicine techniques.

One Soul Animal Healing is a new, mobile veterinary business started by Dr. Jeri Clapp.  Acupuncture is the manipulation of chi, an energy force which is believed to tie in organs and maintain the overall function of the organism. Human acupuncture and pet acupuncture are very much alike, Clapp said. Both utilize small needles placed at certain points on the body to stimulate the flow of energy. 

Clapp is considered an "integrative" veterinarian. She implements both western and eastern medicine in her work. The difference between the two is the same in veterinary medicine as it is in human medicine, Clapp said. The basic premise behind eastern medicine is different, but, like western medicine, it has a goal of alleviating disease and promoting wellness.

"Both of them require a lot of intuition and a lot of artistic ability,” Clapp said. “In western medicine, though, we usually have much harder, steadfast data that we look at diagnostically. We tend to treat individual problems."

Clapp, a native of Brimfield, moved to New Mexico when she was 13. After graduating from high school, she attended Colorado State University where she earned her doctor in veterinary medicine in 1988. She spent a short stint at a practice in Fort Collins before moving up to the mountains and starting her own mixed animal practice. 

Unlike small animal practices, which typically only provide care for cats and dogs, mixed animal practices have patients of varying sizes from horses to rabbits. Clapp started a second mixed animal practice after moving again. Though, after deciding she physically needed a break from large animal care, she became the new owner of a small animal practice called Neighborhood Pet Care Center near Denver. 

After 20 years, Clapp sold her practice in 2018 and moved back to Ohio. A year later, she graduated from the Chi Institute, now known as Chi University, in Reddick, Florida. Since then, she has done part-time and relief work at a local veterinary practice and performed some acupuncture on the side. 

Dr. Huisheng Xie, the founder of Chi University, said traditional Chinese veterinary medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine, are a practical medical modality. A key, unique element of the university, also, is integrating the teachings of eastern and western medicine.

Any licensed vet can have a mobile business, Clapp said. Acupuncture with animals, unlike with humans, does not require a separate license. It is a tool that a general practitioner can use.

"You have to start off with a DVM, with your veterinary license, in order to practice any kind of veterinary medicine in the state of Ohio,” Clapp said. “If you do like what I did and go to acupuncture school, then you can also perform acupuncture."

Clapp said she saw in her own practice that older patients, especially large dogs, quit responding to anti-inflammatory medications, muscle relaxants and pain medications after some time. Running out of treatment options was frustrating. At Chi University, however, she learned every kind of problem can be treated with acupuncture. She said the best feeling in the whole world is when that treatment is successful and rewarding.

Acupuncture restores normal body homeostasis and allows innate healing and regeneration processes to function optimally, Xie said. For example, acupuncture releases beta-endorphins that can relieve pain. 

Rev. Nick Nicholson has known Clapp for about 15 years. They were introduced through Clapp’s former Colorado practice. As a pet chaplain, Nicholson said she has worked with many veterinarians but has never seen anyone as compassionate and passionate about animals as Clapp.

Nicholson and her wife moved to the South Canton area in 2019. She continues to take her animals, including Dennis the cat, to Clapp. Dennis is about 14 years old and arthritic. Though he has not been treated by acupuncture yet, Clapp has helped him by massaging his hips and shoulders. It has helped his movement significantly, Nicholson said.

As a mixed animal practice, the size of the acupuncture needle Clapp uses depends on the size of the pet. Regardless of size, they all have a smaller gauge than hypodermic needles. "Permission points" are always activated first. Those points, she said, will help the pet relax by releasing endorphins and serotonin.

Like some people, some animals are not as amenable to needles. Clapp utilizes some alternative techniques and herb supplements to help, however. Even with fractious animals, though, she said they tend to be able to get a few needles in. 

Acupuncture needles come in sterile packaging, are only used once and disposed of after a procedure is completed.

As a veterinarian, Clapp said, she has had wonderful results. However, just like western veterinary medicine, acupuncture is not a cure-all. It is nice to have the extra tool, though, she said. Examining an animal's health from two different medical perspectives also helps her be more thorough in her approach.

Xie said his school has observed a significantly increased interest in veterinary acupuncture as well as traditional Chinese veterinary medicine. He credited that to successful results, scientific research making acupuncture more acceptable academically as well as publicly; and the fact that over 50% of American Veterinary Medical Association accredited veterinary schools have veterinarians certified or with an interest in acupuncture as faculty members, or offer acupuncture to their patients through referral.

Aside from acupuncture, wellness services, routine vaccinations, lab work, wound care and at-home euthanasia are offered by One Soul Animal Healing. Patients needing x-rays for diagnosis will be referred to local veterinary practices.

Dr. Jeri Clapp can be reached at 720-365-0676 or by email at onesoulanimalhealing@gmail.com. 

Reporter Kaitlyn McGarvey can be reached at kmcgarvey@recordpub.com or on Twitter at @kaitlynmcg_rc.