From Veterinary Practice News – Feb 2015 – Vol 27/No 2:

“The Petco retail chain followed through on its promise to stop selling all Chinese-made dog and cat treats by the end of 2014. On the clock is PetSmart, which has vowed to eliminate the treats by March. The US Food and Drug Administration is investigating a possible connection between jerky treats and thousands of reported pet illnesses or deaths.” -p16

“…weightloss and walking are the key.”…” “For sure Adequan helps.” - Dr Suber, p26 regarding pet longevity

“There are accounts of using honey for open wound management as early as 2000BC. Honey is a widely recognized treatment in human medicine, but has arguably not been used ot its fullest potential in veterinary medicine.” p34 regarding caring of wounds

All three had spinal surgery and are at different stages of their functional recovery.

Enter Quellin™

Quellin is the newest entry into the field of arthritic therapeutic NSAIDs for dogs in a “savory” chewable meat-flavored form.

Specifically a “pharmaceutical” entry.

Even more specific, it’s from Bayer; it’s major competitor (or equivalent, if you will) is Rimadyl (carprofen) manufactured by Zoetis.

The standard of OA (osteoarthritic care) in dogs (& humans for that matter) is weight control (aka: weight LOSS) and anti-inflammatory agents.

Has anyone (or their pet, rather) tried Quellin??

HERE is the website

Rimadyl received bad press years ago regarding elevated liver enzymes in some cases. The stigma is still attached (per my conversations with pet parents) to this drug. Personally, my own pet has used Rimadyl for months to help recover from multiple, simultaneous orthopedic surgeries without ill-effect. I didn’t think twice about putting her on it. When monitored and used judiciously, carprofen helps.

“CM” is the acronym or abbreviation in our circles for “Chiari-like Malformation”.

Thought of as a developmental issue and most prevalent (in my experience) in King Charles Cavalier spaniels, the highlighted article gives a bit more information (good info) on this issue as well as syringomyelia and the diagnostics in another breed that is also commonly affected: Griffon.

Read on HERE

The authors of a new study listed in “Osteoarthritis and Cartilage” purport that PULSED ultrasound is better than constant when the goal is functional improvement with osteoarthritis. Both were effective in providing pain relief. 

(The fact that in the study the US was done on humans makes it no less relevant as a modality in animal rehabilitation…)

This was a systematic and meta-analysis review of 12 trials total. 

Here is the link to the journal and HERE is the PubMed link

Since I can’t see your hand, write to us in comments below *if* you utilize therapeutic ultrasound as a healing modality!! Thank you 

Here in California, a hot bed for regulatory & insurance issues (human & animal), the “OG” pet insurance is making some changes! Read on:

VPI and its sister subsidiaries to rename as Nationwide
According to Veterinary Practice News, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. and its sister subsidiaries will be known simply as Nationwide. Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), which covers more than 500,000 U.S. pets, is getting a new name: Nationwide.

Parent company Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. announced that a family of subsidiaries selling everything from automobile and farm insurance to mortgages and financial services will be rebranded over the next 18 months.

Headquartered in Brea, Calif., VPI is the nations oldest and largest pet health insurer, offering a variety of plans to the owners of cats, dogs, birds and exotic animals. Nationwide aims to bring all its businesses, ranging from VPI to Nationwide Insurance, under the same corporate brand and an updated logo.

– from Vet-Advantage News 9/9/14

Do you have pet insurance? Or have you considered pet insurance?

Why or why not?

Please spread the word about our Animal Rehabilitation Wheelchair ~ Cart Donation Program!!

We kindly and humbly accept used wheelchairs of any size and condition.

We will lovingly refurbish and #PayItForward to another animal need in hopes of extending the quality of life for another pet.

CATalyst Council and Henry Schein Animal Health offer 10 Tips on Making Your Cat Happy:

In honor of September as Happy Cat Month, the CATalyst Council and Henry Schein Animal Health offer a list of the top 10 ways cat owners can keep their pets happy:

1. Visit the veterinarian (While some owners may dread a trip to the veterinarian with their cat, many veterinary practices are cat friendly or have doctors who specialize in cats);

2. Provide preventive medications;

3. Microchip your cat;

4. Provide toys;

5. Train together;

6. Work for food (Feline obesity is a problem in this country and one way to combat it is to make cats work for their food);

7. Get your cat acclimated to the carrier;

8. Go outside (appropriately);

9. Scratch the surface (allow cats places to stretch and care for their claws);

10. Think about getting another cat.

– Vet-Advantage News 9/16/14

Lovely “Lucy” is a mature girl who had back surgery a few months ago. She stayed with us for a week afterwards for rehab purposes then after she came back to get her staples removed, she returns weekly for hydrotherapy. The purpose of her underwater treadmill sessions are to help increase her strength, stamina, balance and get her walking more normally as safely and as soon as possible. Her parents LOVE watching her “do her thing”!!

Video Lucy Aug 07, 3 04 01 PM talking

I just did a database backup, switched PHP’s, somethingerother to mySQL, and upgraded the blog version…blahblahblah. This is in hopes of continuing to upgrade the blog, (eventually) the website, and the information YOU receive on animal rehabilitation!