Pets in Cleveland with arthritis and sore muscles are being treated with acupuncture.
Former working collie Bess has seen an improvement to her arthritic knees since Australian vet Karen Willmer began treating her.
"Acupuncture is an animal-treatment that was used on battlefields in China and India thousands of years ago," said Miss Willmer, 26, of the Guisborough Animal Health Centre.
"In fact it was used on animals before humans. I studied it in Australia for a couple of years and thought it would be good to offer the service here too, although we offer acupuncture alongside more usual medicine.
"Bess is using fewer and fewer pain-killers for her knees and is a bit of a star patient."
Pet-acupuncture is also available in Middlesbrough and York. A consultation at the Animal Health Centre costs about £42.
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