Animal Options: Dr. Karen Hooks

Dr. Karen Hooks Veterinary Practice Focused On Acupuncture and Chiropractic Services

     “Empathetic.” “Gets results.” “A great eye.”  “Honest.” “Loves animals.” “Ethical.”

“Genuine.” “Love her.” “Fortunate to have her.” Those are some of the things folks who

have used Dr. Karen Hooks to care for their animals said about her.   

    The veterinary medicine practice of Dr. Hooks of Little Rock is focused on acupuncture and chiropractic services for animals of all species.  Karen has been practicing veterinary medicine for 28 years.  She has provided acupuncture and chiropractic services for 20 years and also provides physical therapy and rehabilitation.

     Her degrees and education are extensive, extending beyond veterinary, acupuncture and chiropractic studies.

       “I am the only veterinarian in Arkansas trained and certified to practice veterinary acupuncture and chiropractic.  I use these other modalities as extra tools to help diagnose and treat problems in animals,” she said.  

     “I very much enjoy what I do. My job is to make animals feel better.  I use a low stress approach to my practice to gain the patient’s trust.  I like making animals more comfortable and help them life.”have the ability to live a full life.” 

     Linda Bly of west Little Rock said Karen had been taking care of her animals for about 15 years.

     “She’s good.  She’s effective.  She’s empathetic.  And I have recommended her to other people over the years, because she gets results,” Ms. Bly said.

      Linda’s corgi, Trevor, and her basset, Roger, have been treated for the back problems endemic to such long-backed, short-legged dogs, as well as for a torn ligament and routine problems over the years.   

     “She treated both successfully. And she’s treated my horses.  They’ve had a variety of things wrong.”

    Linda has a mare named Doll that she trail rides with, and she does dressage with Bert, a gelding.

     “She’s done chiropractic and acupuncture on both of them.  There is no question that what she does is beneficial.”

     Linda, 65, has had horses since she was 13 and is attuned to their moods and problems.  She said Karen works well with them.

    “She has a great eye.  She can just watch a horse move and see where the problem is.

    “She is very honest and very ethical in her dealings.  If she doesn’t think she can help somebody, she says so up front.  There have been times when she’s come to the barn and looked at horses, mine and others, and determined that chiropractic or acupuncture wouldn’t be appropriate.  She’d say to get another vet to look at them or else say they were fine.  And she doesn’t charge.”

    Jennifer Bevans, owner of J & J Stables in West Little Rock, said Karen has been taking care of her horses for about 14 years.  Ms. Bevans once raised American paint horses and quarter halter horses for competitions.  “I have several retired world champions,” she said.

     “I’ve been raising horses for over 20 years.  Pretty much every horse I have had her work with, she’s totally helped them.  Most of the time, she can help a horse with one or two treatments.”

    One of her show mares that was exhibiting some lameness took a bit longer.  “Nobody could figure out what was wrong,” even after extensive  exams and an ultrasound.  However, after Karen was called in to look at the mare, she discovered an injured radial nerve in the mare’s neck that had affected the movement of her legs. Karen, working with Dee Dee Cravens, who provided physical therapy, healed the horse. 

    “Between the two of them, they fixed her.”

     Jennifer said she knows the acupuncture and chiropractic treatments have helped her horses time and again.  “Knowing your horses is kind of like knowing your kids.  I can read their faces.”

     Jennifer has another mare that is permanently crippled, and Karen provides her care for free.

     “She’s called Baby Doll, and Dr. Hooks always checks on her and never charges for her.  She is a super, super lady,  I count her as a friend. She loves the animals and has a genuine desire to help them, and if she can’t, she’s genuine enough to tell you she can’t.  She’s aboveboard in her standards of treatment.  She puts all of that first.”  

     Carol Sitlington of Kingwood said, “I love Dr. Hooks.”

     Ms. Sitlington said Karen had been taking care of her dogs for at least 12 years.  Right now, Carol has four Cardigan corgis, Ashes, Cairo, Gordy and Cricket, who get monthly chiropractic and acupuncture treatments.

    “They call these dogs ‘yard long” dogs, because their backs are so long.  It is important to keep their backs strong.  Dr. Hooks just has these hands that can feel the injuries on their

backs.  It’s incredible.

     “It keeps from having to give them pain medications that can cause so many side effects.  She keeps them healthy and noble and active.  She’s just wonderful, and I highly recommend anyone go to her.”

     Carol has another vet she takes her corgis to for medical problems.  For example, when Ashes got into rat poison, the regular vet treated her for that, and he gives them blood tests when needed.

    “Any orthopedic problem, I call Dr. Hooks first. She keeps them healthy and moving.  The acupuncture relaxes them.  They know it’s going to be a good experience.  My oldest, Cairo, has been known to doze while she’s doing it.  She usually does the chiropractic first, examines them, feels them.  It takes about 20 to 30 minutes for each dog.

     “I think it’s just wonderful, and we are so fortunate to have her.”

     Dr. Hooks, a resident of Leawood, has several animals of her own: Sailor, a 14-year-old mixed breed dog who rules the household; two horses, Fendi, 10, and Scottie, 24;  and a pet deer, Rosie, who is 15 years old. Over the years, she has had many other pets, including cats, a goat and Vizsla show dogs. Many of the dogs she works with today are performance animals. 

     Melissa Snell of West Little Rock has used Karen’s services for about five years for her champion show dogs, JoJo, a Coton de Turear, and Zap, a miniature poodle. 

     “They are performance dogs.  They do agility, obedience compliance and free style.  They are like little athletes. 

     “She does chiropractic and acupuncture.  I take them in before a really big competition to make sure everything is okay.  She really helps to keep them in top shape. She’s always great to work with.“

     Dr. Hooks sees pets, as well as working and show animals.

     “I see a lot of athletic dogs that participate in agility, Schutzhund, obedience, hunting etc., as well as dogs and other animals whose main job is as a pet or companion,” she said. 

     “I also see a lot of geriatric animals with subtle lameness and discomfort.  The horses I see are mostly athletic jumpers, dressage, racing, reining, and roping. 

     And, it’s not all horses and dogs.

    “I have treated everything from an elephant to a barred owl that was brought to me by a wildlife rehabilitation facility.” 

     Mary Jane Calhoun of the Heights said Karen had been taking care of her animals for

at least 20 years.

    “She’s very professional and knowledgeable,” Mrs. Calhoun said. 

     “I have a border collie, Sasha Belle, between 15 and 16 years old, and Chloe, a 

basset hound who is 14 years old. Because of Karen, I think my dogs are blissfully enjoying life in their senior years.  The border collie is elderly, but she plays and enjoys her life.”

     Regular acupuncture treatments have helped keep her dogs active and helped with pain issues.  “It helps.  I can see that it does.

    “And my husband has a few race horses with two or three other men.  He has not hesitated to recommend Karen Hooks to other horse owners.

    “Karen is direct and kind. And she’s honest with you.  I think that’s real important.  We are just lucky to have her.  We really are.”

    Karen is a licensed practicing veterinarian with a bachelor’s degree in  Animal Science from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.  She earned a master’s in Public Health Epidemiology in 2013 from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  She earned her doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Tuskegee University in 1988.  

     She was certified to practice Veterinary Acupuncture in 1996 and was a charter member of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncturists.  She was certified to practice Animal Chiropractic in 1998 and is a lifetime founding member of the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. She is a member of the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

    You can find her on Facebook, on the web at animal options.com, or by calling 223-5400.