Veterinary Topographic Acupuncture

Dr. West graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987. After completing a 15-month internship at Hollywood Animal Hospital, she practiced primarily conventional Western Medicine at her own small and exotic companion animal clinic in Plantation, Florida for 19 years. After selling her South Florida practice, she began to study TCVM at Chi. In 2008, after becoming certified in Veterinary Acupuncture and Tui-na by Chi, she opened her new practice, Alternative Veterinary Medicine, located just north of Tallahassee, Florida. She now practices primarily TCVM and integrated medicine for small and exotic companion animals. Due to the growing demand for holistic medicine, she has begun to practice TCVM for equine patients as well. She has recently completed the advanced acupuncture course for small animals, and currently serves as a lab instructor for the Small Animal Acupuncture course at Chi. She plans to expand her study of holistic medicine to include energy medicine in the near future. Her energy is renewed by relaxing with her critter family on her farm in South Georgia.

Dr. Todd graduated from the University of Florida with a DVM in 1988. In 1993, Dr. Todd became an apprentice to Dr. Patrick Sullivan, AP, and began studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 1996, he became certified by IVAS. His studies continued at Chi. He has lectured and instructed nationally and internationally for IVAS, the North American Veterinary Conference, and Chi. Dr. Todd practices integrative veterinary medicine at the Animal Hospital of Dunedin in the Tampa Bay Area.

Dr. Ronald Koh received his veterinary degree in Taiwan in 2006 and later completed a specialty internship followed by a master’s program in acupuncture at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to joining UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2020, he spent 6.5 years on the faculty of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, where he served as an assistant professor (2015-2020) and a service chief of Integrative Medicine and Rehabilitation Service. He is certified in acupuncture, rehabilitation, herbal therapy, and medical manipulation. He completed his residency in Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2019. His research and clinical focus have been on integrative and rehabilitative medicine therapies for pain management, orthopedic impairments, neurological deficits, geriatric conditions, and palliative/hospice care. His focus within TCVM is using traditional, scalp, and topographic acupuncture, along with herbal medicine for neurological conditions. He lectures on TCVM, integrative medicine, and rehabilitation for veterinary schools, conferences, and general public events. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, hiking, and traveling.

Dr. Alfaro received his DVM in 1975 from Federal University of Parana, Brazil. He then continued his veterinary studies in large animal surgery, radiology and anesthesiology from the University of Minnesota and obtained his Master of Sciences in 1979. Dr. Alfaro was certified in Veterinary Acupuncture in 2004 and in Tui-na and Herbal Medicine in 2012 from the Chi Institute. He became a Certified Balance Method Silver Level Practitioner from Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan in 2012. He then continued to become a Certified Balance Method Executive Level Practitioner by The Academy of Acupuncture Balance Method in 2018. Nowadays he is a retired Professor of Equine Surgery at the School of Veterinary Medicine, National University, Costa Rica since 2005, but still teaches integrative equine medicine and Acupuncture to students at National University in Costa Rica. Additionally, he lectures on Integrative Medicine in Costa Rica and abroad.