November/December
2004
(More
photos below)
After 2 weeks, we took Tara in to get her stitches out. During that time, we worked on her therapy, but I didn't feel like she was recovering as well as I'd hoped. I talked to Dr. Judy about it and she told me about PineRidge Pet Care Hospital where they offer rehabilitation services. I called them and set up an appointment for Tara for the week after her stitches came out. I was very impressed with the facility and Physical Therapy program. I found Barb Guse, the physical therapist, to be a kind and caring person who really loves the dogs and wants to see them progress and get back to as close to 100% as they can. She was very encouraging, gave us "homework" every visit, and really seemed to get a kick out of Tara. Tara, on the other hand, did not feel the same about Barb! She would be happy and greeting everyone at the clinic on our appointment days, and then Barb would come out and Tara would look at her like "Oh crud. She's going to put me in that torture chamber again!"
The "Torture Chamber" that Tara hated so much is an underwater treadmill. It forces the dog to walk, but the water takes the weight off the joints, making it less painful, while adding resistance making the dog work harder with the range of motion required to walk on the treadmill. It was beyond amazing to see the difference it made. Before her first session, she would use her leg maybe 25% of the time, holding it off the ground and not using it 75% of the time. The first session consisted of about 3 minutes on the treadmill, a rest period, then 5 more minutes on the treadmill. After that session, Tara used her leg 75% of the time and only limped when she was tired! I couldn't believe it. Each session increased the treadmill time till she worked up to a full 15 minutes on the treadmill. I learned more techniques of therapy to do with her between appointments, and before you knew it, she was using the leg all the time, jumping up on furniture, scampering up her ramp onto her bay window (no more jumping up there for her) and running after squirrels again! She would "sing" to Barb the entire time she was working - I think it was actually her saying "Do you know who I am?? Do you not realize that I HATE baths? Who do you think you are?? I am TARA - nobody gets away with torturing me so!" She was not a happy a camper - but it sure made a difference! I would 100% recommend it to anyone who has a dog go through this type of surgery. I felt the cost was very reasonable, and the difference it made was unbelievable.
Click on image to view full sized photo.
| Getting into the treadmill. On the right is
Barb Guse, the physical therapist. Left is a vet student intern. |
"Well this isn't so bad, but it's a bit too
much like a cage..." |
"Hey wait a second! Where is this water coming
from??" |
| "Maybe there is a back door out of here..." |
"I know I can get this handle to work!" |
"Do you people realize it's flooding in
here??" |
| "You just wait till I get out of here... you
will regret it!" |
Walking on the treadmill. |
How happy does she look? |
| "If you think this ball makes a difference,
you're obviously mistaking me for dumb Labrador..." |
"I just won't walk then! Oops - bad
idea..." |
"Let me out NOW!" |
| "Help! Don't those people in lobby care about
the torture I'm under?" |
"Maybe if I whine louder..." |
"This woman is relentless..." |
| "Oh the indignity..." |
