Animal rehab gets pets back on their feet

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Erin Cox, a veterinary technician, has Nelli, a black Labrador-Newfoundland, mix stand on three legs to strengthen them following ACL surgery. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Nelli peeks out from the shower after the therapy session. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

February 11, 2012

Therapy helps pets get back on their feet

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS, mdrahos@record-eagle.com ---- The Record Eagle Sat Feb 11, 2012, 07:14 AM EST

TRAVERSE CITY — When their dog, Zooey, injured both hind legs in the fall of 2010, Michelle and Tim Thomas expected the worst.

"She tore both her cruciate ligaments, the ligaments behind the knee, and they can't be reattached," said Michelle Thomas, of the then 3-year-old boxer mix. "There are surgeries that are offered, but they're $1,200 a leg. They have to be in casts, it's months in rehabilitation and there's no guarantee the surgery will work. We thought we'd have to put her down."

Instead, veterinarian and now certified canine rehabilitation therapist Lisa LaCross suggested laser therapy to help activate cell growth to form scar tissue over the knees. Within a couple of weeks, Zooey was bearing weight on her hind legs, said Thomas, of Traverse City. By summer, the dog that formerly had to be carried was "running, climbing hills and swimming."

Over the past dozen years, animal rehabilitation has been a steadily emerging field in veterinary medicine. The therapy can speed and enhance recovery from injuries and degenerative conditions, help decrease pain and promote health and fitness.

In Michigan, LaCross' Animal Rehabilitation Center of Northern Michigan is the first such facility north of Grand Rapids. The center opened in January with little fanfare and has already treated patients from as far away as Boyne Falls and Onekama.

"People are seeking us out and they're willing to pay for rehabilitation for their pets, especially if it's a big tear or a young dog," said LaCross, who trained at Michigan State University and the Canine Rehabilitation Institute in Wellington, Fla., one of the top two rehabilitation certification programs in the country.

The center is part of a building and expansion project that takes LaCross' Long Lake Animal Hospital from 2,700 to 7,100 square feet. Besides the separate rehabilitation center, which boasts a rubberized floor, exercise equipment, lasers, electrical stimulator and underwater treadmill, the project includes an enlarged treatment and surgery area, a private, homelike exam room for euthanasia, and a luxury dog boarding facility and cat condos.

Construction is expected to be completed by March, LaCross said.

The veterinarian said she became interested in rehabilitation therapy after noticing more knee surgeries in her practice even though little was taught in vet school about post-surgery treatment.

"When I graduated from school we bandaged dogs' knees and kept them immobile for two weeks. Now we don't even bandage," she said.

The therapy also can treat fractures, hip problems, muscle injury and neuromuscular disease, limb amputation, degenerative myelopathy, paralysis, Achilles tendon rupture and other conditions.

Patients get a referral from their vet before being evaluated. Then LaCross develops a customized rehabilitation plan that is carried out with the help of veterinarian Diana Raddatz and veterinary technician Erin Cox.

"It's not cookie-cutter. I think that's why I like it," said LaCross, a member of the 5-year-old American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians. "It's new and I find it fascinating."

Most pets are dropped off in the morning and picked up in late afternoon to allow for rest between therapy, she said. The cost ranges from $75-$100 per drop-off session or one-hour appointment, plus a consultation fee. Five- and 10-session package discounts are available.

Labrador retriever-Newfoundland mix Nelli rested near Cox on a recent afternoon, after a workout on the underwater treadmill. Water for the treadmill is stored in a 425-gallon tank, then pumped under the floor into the treadmill. It's kept between 85 and 89 degrees for optimum muscle relaxation. After, the water is drained through a filter before going back into the storage tank.

"When we first thought of the idea of physical therapy for our dog, we were looking at just a couple weeks, but it's been well worth it," said Nelli's owner, Niki Novak, who has taken the dog for weekly therapy for nine weeks following anterior cruciate ligament or ACL repair. "It has done amazing things for her surgery leg. She doesn't baby it at all anymore. Hopefully we can avoid surgery on the other leg."