For years, Kimberly Henneman’s nickname was “voodoo doc.”
She is a licensed veterinarian with a degree from a prestigious school, but she prefers to specialize in integrative sometimes called “alternative” medicine.
Her Jeremy Ranch clinic, Animal Health Options, does acupuncture, chiropractics, rehabilitation, Chinese Herbal Medicine, classical homeopathy, Western herbal medicine, performance biomechanics, nutrition and thermal imaging.
Her allegiance to alternative methods began in the mid-1980s. She was ill and could only work about four hours a day. Traditional treatments did nothing for her. After changing her diet, taking herbal medicines and undergoing acupuncture, she was cured.
Not much later she saw an equine chiropractor immediately improve an injured gait.
“I gave up my regular practice shortly after,” she said.
It was not a rough transition.
“Animal owners here are more educated in all the options available,” she added.
Henneman no longer worries about being called “voodoo doc” or earning respect. She is now in high demand with owners of performance animals both athletes and work animals.
She looked after dogs at the Iditarod last year and sees many competition horses. Half of the dogs she sees work with avalanche teams, police and search and rescue crews.
Henneman said she was a vet of last resort when she started, but now hardly ever hears that. Awareness of the effectiveness of these integrative methods has spread. Many of her clients’ owners use these methods themselves, she said. Several local vets now refer patients to her.
The Animal Health Options team also includes Anthony Woerner and Deborah Hadlock.
Woerner is a human physical therapist who got licensed in canine therapy. Henneman met him when she injured her own knee.
“He really understands dogs,” she said.
Hadlock studied acupuncture with Henneman before moving back to New York a decade ago. She has been with Animal Health Options for three years.
In addition to acupuncture, Hadlock also performs Tui Na another branch of Chinese medicine. She describes it as a kind of non-needle acupuncture almost like massage. It is used for soft tissue and myofascial therapy.
She also works as a cardiologist for a company in Salt Lake City.
Animal Health Options prefers not to see emergencies. Its treatments aid healing and help maintain fitness, Henneman said.
Because nutrition is an important part of the clinic’s offerings, Henneman has a specialty pet food store within her clinic called H.O.P.E. (Healing Options for Pets and Equine).
“I have unusual, hard-to-find foods as well as the interesting and unusual,” she said.
Her early career was spent mostly with horses, but her expertise in dogs recently prompted a textbook company to commission her to write four chapters for a new book on canine sports medicine.
Animal Health Options
435-647-0807
3070 West Rasmussen Road #80
www.AnimalHealthOptionsVet.com
View Animal Health Options in a larger map