This study investigated the efficacy of gold bead acupuncture (GBA) to treat chronic joint pain in the hips, elbows and spine of dogs unsuccessfully treated with conventional therapies. A total of 79 dogs completed the study and were evaluated for improvement after GBA treatment of 1 or more affected joints. Outcome measurements, including pain (Helsinki Chronic Pain Index, HCPI), quality of life (QoL) and lameness (DoL) scores, were collected at Week 0 (pre-treatment baseline), Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and Month 2. Treatment success for an individual was defined as greater than 20% improvement (from baseline) in at least 2 outcome measurements. Study findings demonstrated improvement was observed after 1 week of treatment for DoL (55.7%) and QoL (60.8%) and was statistically significant (p < 0.0001) by Week 2 (73.7%, 78.9%, respectively) which remained statistically significant until study termination at Month 2 (91.5%, 91.5%, respectively). The HCPI (chronic pain) score improved at Week 1 (49.4%) and continued improving throughout the study reaching statistical significance (p=0.002) at Month 2 (69.0%). Results satisfied the study hypothesis of at least 20% improvement (from baseline) in at least 2 outcome measurements (DoL, QoL, HCPI) in more than 50% of the subjects after GBA treatment. These findings suggest GBA can be an effective “rescue” method for chronic joint pain unresponsive to conventional treatment and warrants further investigation in randomized controlled clinical trials.