Four Paws Animal Rehabilitation

Newsletter

We will periodically update this page to keep our visitors updated on the latest news and changes we make at Four Paws.

Small Steps for dogs, Giant Leaps for Dogkind

Four Paws Animal Rehabilitation opened its doors on September 1^st. The initial experience has been one of excitement, learning and ultimately very rewarding. It has been wonderful to see our patients and the many referrals we have received gain more mobility, strength and in some cases a second chance. We have created a place where the owner and pet can relax and work on the physical issues that are causing a disruption in their quality of life.

In this issue you will read about some of our case studies and their outcomes as well as what is in the future for Four Paws and what we can offer your clients for options.

We have seen many interesting cases including

senior dogs, post-surgical, congenital conditions, overweight dogs and high-performance athletes.

An interesting caveat to the many clinical issues we have dealt with is that we have also made many good friends during therapy that will go way beyond the clinical setting. There is something about the quiet and relaxed setting that is conducive to the healing process for both pet and owner.

Case Study – Maddie – Seniors Rule!

“All we want is for Maddie to climb the stairs and get in bed with us again.” – Maddie’s owners

When she came to us, Maddie was an overweight 13 year old spayed female lab with a history of multiple CCL surgeries on each of her knees. Over time, both of her knees had become arthritic, to the point of walking with virtually no flexion in her stifle or tarsal joints. She walked like a little wooden soldier. On palpation, her stifle joints were painful and thickened, with crepitation through her limited range of motion. Her range of motion in her stifles was significantly below normal; while extension was normal, her flexion was R=97 and L=85 degrees (normal is 45). She had significant atrophy of her thigh and calf muscles. At home, she refused to walk on slippery surfaces and had stopped going up stairs about 6 months prior. Maddie’s therapy began with two sessions a week. At each session, we began with passive flexion/extension while warming her stifle joints. She received cold laser treatments at 4 points, medially and laterally on each stifle and then we performed joint mobilizations. Following that, she spent time in the underwater treadmill, the duration and speed of her sessions increasing as her condition improved.After three sessions, her owner was reporting significant improvement in comfort and mobility. Stifle flexion was R=78, L=70. By eight weeks, she was walking comfortably on the slippery floors she had been avoiding at home. Stifle flexion was R=55, L=58. Since then, she has been coming in every week or two for a conditioning session in the treadmill. She has continued to increase the speed and duration of her workouts. Over Thanksgiving vacation, much to the delight of her owners, she climbed a very steep 150 foot embankment along the Columbia River. She has lost 7 pounds and gained approximately 3 cm around each thigh.

Update– Maddie’s owners have reported that she is now going upstairs to sleep in their bedroom once again.

Four Paws Animal Rehabilitaion* 712 Trosper Rd. SW* Tumwater * WA * 98512