Woody, an Acupuncture patient of Dr. Heller. |
When Dr. Lisa Heller says she enjoys the variety of a mixed practice,
it’s barely a hint at the diverse livelihood that keeps the
St Marys veterinarian jumping. The only veterinarian in St. Marys,
she has a large and small animal six days a week. As the Ohio Valley
Episcopal priest with congregations in St. Marys, Sistersville, New
Martinsburg and Williamstown, she performs services at two churches
each Sunday. When she isn’t working, she is busy with her husband,
two children and 37 animals at their small farm outside St. Marys.
A graduate of OU, born in Parkersburg and raised in Athens Ohio,
when Dr. Heller graduated she came right to St. Mary’s. “My
grandparents farm was in Ritchie County and I learned to love the
area when I visited in the summer. The local pharmacist told me there
hadn’t been a vet in St. Marys for forty years. It seemed like
the perfect place to open my first practice.” She will celebrate
twenty years this August.
She started her practice in a house trailer, but after just a year,
she was able to purchase and convert a 6000 sq. ft. ranch house into
her clinic.
Dr. Heller is one of only two certified veterinary acupuncturists
in West Virginia. Dr. Delane Amentrount at Cross Lanes Veterinary
Hospital in Charleston is the other. The certification is presented
through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society with students
and teachers attending from all over the world. The two-year, 700
hour course is offered every two years in a different city. In Dr.
Heller’s class in Decatur Georgia, “There were 130 students
from China, Japan, Korea, Norway, Europe and all over. All the professors
are veterinarians licensed in acupuncture.” When she first took
the class, she says there were very few texts but that has changed
in the past ten years as interest and the number of practitioners
have increased.
Dr. Heller says, “ I use my traditional training to the fullest
but I also employ alternative medicine to enhance the quality of medicine
that I practice. I entered into the holistic medical approach because
I kept running into barriers. Medicine can do wonderful things, but
chronic medications can also cause chronic problems. Alternative approaches
can address those concerns.” For some illnesses, like cancer,
she incorporates herbology into her care. “Chemotherapy is very
tough – for the animals and their owners. Foods and substances
to enhance the immune system and stimulate the appetite are sometimes
a more appropriate treatment, especially when quality of life is the
central issue.”
She’s found acupuncture very helpful for animals suffering
from orthopedic problems, immune deficiency problems or arthritis
and often uses it in geriatric care. “The needles aren’t
painful. Animals quickly get accustomed to the procedure and relax.”
She says, “It’s a slower, more subtle approach. Animals
don’t immediately feel better, like they might after a shot
of cortisone. But, acupuncture doesn’t have the serious side
effects of steroids. We usually start with treatments twice a week
for 3 weeks, once a week afterwards.”
She sometimes uses acupuncture in conjunction with traditional medicine,
like for Woody, the sweet natured mixed years of boisterous cheering
for years of Mountaineer football games pup being fostered from the
Parkersburg Humane Society. Woody has small seizures and some neurological
problems - he tilts his head as though pondering a puzzle. He receives
Phenobarbital in addition to acupuncture treatments. “Woody
may always be a special needs dog but he’s showing signs of
improvement. He’s housebroken and plays well with children and
other dogs. We can’t cure every animal but we try to give them
the best life we can, using all the tools we have.”
The Hellers just welcomed two new members into their own extended
family; baby goats Ashes and Socker, born on Ash Wednesday, join rabbits,
miniature horses, four dogs, twelve cats and a donkey. Lisa’s
husband Richard is in the other family business; he is a chaplain
at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He is just finishing seminary training
in Columbus, and will be ordained this summer.
Lisa Heller doesn’t find it remarkable to have such an assortment
of obligations. She likes animals, people and medicine. “I like
working in a small community, and knowing the people that walk through
my door. This does it all,” she says. “ I always wanted
to be a vet. I just kept adding interests.”
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