The Region - News from Nov. 12, 1985

Blue, the dog credited with helping make 253 “collars” when he worked for Los Angeles police, is getting experimental acupuncture treatments for a canine brand of sclerosis. The 7-year-old German shepherd was retired last month, when it was found that he had a disease similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a congenital spinal-cord disease that killed New York Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig in 1941. Veterinarians have said Blue will be paralyzed within months and will have to be destroyed, but Dr. Sheldon Altman, a Burbank veterinarian, has put Blue on a $2,000 course of special food and acupuncture. Altman said he cannot cure the disease but hopes to slow its progress. The bills are being paid by the LAMPMinders, a women’s group interested mainly in children’s causes. Members “fell in love with Blue,” when his handler brought him to a luncheon, a spokeswoman said.