Here is a recent email from a dog owner.  Simply put, this is why we do what we do.

“Here’s a picture of Yogi at the beach.  He’s in great shape, 2 years after the stem cell treatment.  We joke that he goes around singing “I feel good” in a James Brown voice.

Yogi was infected with 3 tick born diseases including Lyme’s about 2 and ½ years ago.  The Lyme’s, together with significant hip dysplasia, proved a terrible combination. He got so bad (even after weeks of antibiotics that cleared up the Lyme’s) that in the evenings he stiffened up so much he could barely get up from a lying or sitting position.   Some days he was in so much pain he didn’t want to go for the daily park outings with the other household dogs and would just sit forlornly on the deck.

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When arthritis affects the abilities of our companion dogs, we can tailor their activities to their limited stamina and mobility. When a canine member of the police force can no longer perform his duties comfortably, retirement becomes an inevitability. Such was the fate that awaited Dasty, a canine officer for the Chicago Police Department, whose arthritis pain was not reliably controlled by physical therapy or medications. According to Dr. Cheryl Adams at Arboretum View Animal Hospital in Downers Grove Illinois, who performed Vet-Stem Cell Therapy on the German Shepherd in early 2010, “Traditional treatments were just not working for him.” At Dr. Adam’s suggestion, Dasty underwent Vet-Stem Cell Therapy in early 2010; now he and his human partner can look forward to several more years of service to their city without being slowed by pain from arthritis. Read the full story here.

In an article in DVM Newsmagazine September 1, 2010, Dr. Sherman O. Canapp, DVM, MS, CCRT, Dipl. ACVS describes three options for optimal care and comfort for dogs with elbow arthritis.  Dr. Canapp is a nationally-recognized veterinary surgeon with a specialty practice in the Baltimore area that specializes in sports medicine for dogs.  He has presented the last two years at the American Veterinary Medical Association annual meetings on his use of stem cell therapy in the elbow and stifle for repair of serious sports injuries.

This particular article is the third in a three-part series covering the treatment of elbow disease in dogs, where Dr. Canapp reviews intra-articular medical treatment options for dogs.  Treatment with adipose derived stem cells is featured prominently in the article and in the associated table (see below) showing sustained duration of effect.  Read the entire article for more information.

As someone who has seen his own dogs age and lose their vitality as arthritis sets in, I know just how it feels to wistfully recall the puppy days, when walks could never be too long, couches were never too high, and stairs were never a challenge. We’re even able to forget all the potty accidents in the house and all the things that were chewed beyond salvation, longing to have that energetic, pain-free soul back. Here’s a story about hope fulfilled. Read the rest of this entry »

The story I share with you today would be considered remarkable at any time, but given the current troubled state of the economy, it could be considered downright miraculous.

It seems that a pet owner whose own dog had previously been injected with its own Vet-Stem processed stem cells at Boone Animal Hospital in Western Springs, Illinois was sitting in the clinic’s waiting room and overheard another owner lamenting that because she could not afford a necessary surgical procedure (not Vet-Stem Cell Therapy), she would have to have her dog euthanized. Read the rest of this entry »