I wanted to introduce you to our friends at Pet Sentinel.  Pet Sentinel is a site that offers podcasts called Expert Fireside Chats.

Each Fireside Chat is an interview with an accomplished expert/specialist in the field of pet issues (pet health, pet treatment, pet nutrition, pet management, pet psychology, pet care, and so on).   There is a focused 25-minute conversation with them on a topical subject (e.g. new cures for common pet ailments, new nutritional breakthroughs for pets, whole and natural pet foods, insights on pet behavior, natural ways to train and discipline pets (without use of force or any “strict” traditional means) and so on). The conversation is recorded, and the mp3 recording or podcast made available via The Pet Sentinel website to its community.  We were honored to be invited to participate and share what we have learned about using stem cells for dogs with joint pain.

Our episode was recently posted to their website and can be found by clicking the link below.

Episode 2 (12/11/2009): Dr. Bob Harman and Dr. Julie Ryan Johnson’s Expert Fireside Chat (TM) on “Stem-Cell Therapy: The Cutting-Edge of Regenerative Veterinary Medicine”

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.

I think it is really admirable that many pet owners will adopt from shelters and rescues, thereby giving that lucky dog or cat a whole new life.  Those new pet owners have made an emotional as well as financial investment in their new family members.  Besides behavioral issues, many dogs may have found their way into shelters because former pet owners could not afford the treatment and care for orthopedic issues.  There are also dogs that have been lost or abandoned for some time, and as a result of being on the streets, may have suffered injuries that have not healed correctly.  That is why I wanted to share the story of Tommy Boy, a gorgeous Golden Retriever rescue in the loving care of his foster mom Sarah through the SCGRR, Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue.  Tommy ended up in a shelter and was originally misdiagnosed with bone cancer.  He was taken to a foster home to die in a better setting.  Follow up x-rays and then ultimately an MRI confirmed that Tommy didn’t have cancer but he had a horrible broken pelvis.  Tommy’s veterinarian suggested stem cell therapy to see if an amputation of his rear leg could be avoided.  The rescue then raised the funds for the surgery and Vet-Stem reduced the cost of the stem cell processing and a year later Tommy’s radiographs continue to show improvement.  We wish Tommy and all the rescues out there that help special patients like Tommy a very Happy 2010!

click here to read Tommy Boy’s whole story.

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 »

Dr. Ben Ealing has been performing stem cell therapy treatment for dogs since early November 2008. In the eight months he’s been performing this therapy, he’s seen very positive results.

One of our earliest cases is a dog named Sunshine. 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 »

This blog is all about hope and helping our furry friends have the best quality of life possible.  But eventually, we all reach that point where we have to decide if it is time to say goodbye.  In each of our lifetimes, we may have to tread this path 4-5 times, or more for those of us with multiple buddies.

My wife, Sue and I had to make this decision this last week.  Our border collie, Ritz, was 13.  A sudden paralysis of her hind end was the first symptom.  Since we are in the stem cell business, I immediately took her to a quality clinic here in San Diego, and Dr. Nancy Hampel did a complete examination.  Read the rest of this entry »

So my Dog is Pleasantly Plump??

It is hard to not give in when we think our dogs are ‘starving’.   Did you know that if you can maintain a healthy weight for your dog you can actually reduce the chance of your dog getting arthritis by 33%!!  Dogs that are overweight are also treated for the pain associated with arthritis at an earlier age. Overweight dogs also rupture their cruciate ligament (ligament in the knee)  2-3 times more often than dogs of normal weight.  Convinced yet??

So what is the secret to loosing and keeping weight off?  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 »