As pet owners, it’s always hard to see your dog in pain.  But, it’s also helpful to know there are things you can do to help decrease your dog’s pain when it’s caused by arthritis and hip dysplasia.    This documentary about a beautiful white shepherd named Malibu, also known to her friends as Boo, illustrates what her condition was before and after Vet-Stem cell therapy. You can see how her hip dysplasia set her up for a life of pain due to arthritis and how Vet-Stem has helped her live a happier life.  The strong bond between Boo and her owners is evident, and now her quality of life has improved.  To quote Boo’s owner, “technology saved the day!” And thanks to Dr Benjamin Ealing and the Broad Ripple Animal Clinic for recommending this amazing new treatment.

Can you guess how old Bebe is?

Recently the NBC news followed up with Bebe Miller, a dog that was treated a few years ago.  I challenge you to watch this video and see if you can guess her age.  I will give you a hint, she is over 70 in dog years and still enjoying the dog park at mach speeds.

A common question pet owners ask when considering treatments for their dog or cat. I asked two very prominent veterinarians, Dr. Jamie Gaynor and Dr. Mike Hutchinson, to share with us their thoughts on this concern.

Dr. Jamie Gaynor, Owner of Peak Performance Veterinary Group, boarded anesthesiologist  and internationally recognized pain expert likes to remind pet owners about the value of quality of life.  Though an older dog may not have a long lifespan, the quality of those last months is extremely important.  For example, a thirteen year old dog may not live more than an additional 2 years- but making those dogs feel better, move more comfortably during the remaining time left is a blessing to both dog and pet owner.  He feels it is all about the quality of life.

Dr. Mike Hutchinson, Owner of Animal General of Cranberry and host of his own radio program, Animal General relayed to me the following story. Read the rest of this entry »

When your pet is treated with adipose stem cells for arthritis in their joints, it is common to ask how long the treatment will last and when should you expect to need to retreat.  In survey data returned from owners of dogs treated with Vet-Stem therapy, over 2/3 of all dogs are not retreated during the first year.  Read the rest of this entry »

I was recently interviewed on a live pod cast with my friends at Pet Sentinel and I am always blown away by the love and dedication that pet owners have towards their best friends.  I thought in this blog I would address a lot of the common questions that came up during our discussion.  A common question was “Can I store the extra cells for use in the future?”  So if you and your veterinarian have chosen stem cell therapy as the right choice for your pet, then you already understand the basic process:  your vet will collect a small fat sample, the lab purifies out the stem cells, and then they are injected back into the painful joint.  But that is not the end of the story.  Read the rest of this entry »

In talking to pet owners, I have seen a lot of denial about their dog or cat’s weight problem.  For some reason we make a lot of excuses or we just chose to ignore the signs that our beloved pet is overweight.  Also, we tend to take this a bit personally.  But actually, obesity in dogs is very common.  There are many studies that estimate that 25 to 40% of all dogs are overweight.  Why is this important?  Read the rest of this entry »

Do you ever share your snack with your dog?  You and your dog probably share a love of food and you have a lot in common. You play together. You eat and relax together. And if you aren’t careful about how much you eat and relax, you both might pack on unwanted weight together – excess fat that can be tough to shed.

Canine obesity is an important – and very common – medical condition with serious health implications. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has estimated that there are 41.2 million pet dogs in the United States. Other sources estimate 40 percent of those dogs, approximately 17 million, are overweight or obese. Read the rest of this entry »

In our previous post (See post on November 21, 2009) we discussed other causes of arthritis in dogs such as Lyme Disease.  Since Lyme Disease is a tick borne disease, here are five quick tips you can use to help your dog avoid an infection disease caused by ticks:

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In a previous post I listed the main causes of arthritis in dogs. (See post from November 2, 2009 on this blog).  Aside from those, there are other reasons for arthritis, deserving of their own post.  These include immune mediated arthritis (similar to the human version called Rheumatoid Arthritis) and infectious reasons for arthritis.  For example, in different parts of the country, such as the Eastern Seaboard, if you were to take your dog to the vet for limping, your veterinarian may check for infectious diseases such as Lyme and Anaplasmosis.  Lyme Disease (and not Lime Disease) is a tick borne disease that can give your dog swollen joints, shifting leg lameness and can cause them to feel pretty down and out.

Most common signs of Lyme disease:

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A common question is “when will this be available for humans?” New therapies do take longer to be allowed in people, but the good news is that Vet-Stem has collected very valuable data from the thousands of dogs and horses that we have helped veterinarians treat for OA and tendon and ligament injuries. The dog is actually a very good model for human osteoarthritis. Dogs are also prone to similar soft tissue injuries such as cruciate ligament ruptures (ACL, knee injury) and tears, conditions that veterinarians have seen great improvement in healing by using stem cells. Read the rest of this entry »