“When our 8-year old Terrier mix, Cookie, was unable to walk for a month last Fall, it was devastating to us. We took her to a surgeon who explained that Cookie had torn ligaments in both knees. She had always been an active dog, and walks and playing were her favorite pastimes. We were afraid those days were behind her.
After the surgeon decided it would be best to allow the knees to heal on their own with scar tissue, we began giving Cookie medication daily to manage her pain. Her walks were kept to a minimum, and climbing stairs happened only on ‘good’ days. Our goal at CARE was to make her comfortable and allow her to do some of the things she had previously enjoyed. We have been enrolled now for 5 weeks. Cookie now has medication only on difficult days (only twice in the past 2 weeks) and she has a renewed pep in her step. She climbs up and down the stairs, and it is only be the directive of the CARE staff that during her therapy she does not go on longer walks. She would if we allowed her to! She has gained 1 inch of muscle on each hind leg, has lost weight, and has a greater range of motion in her legs.
These improvements happened all at the same time (the last 5 weeks!) due to the amazing and caring staff at CARE. One other things came out of our experience at CARE. Cookie and I have bonded like never before. I cannot thank the staff at CARE enough for giving Cookie back her mobility, and we plan on continuing with maintenance therapy after our initial 8 weeks is over.”
A.J., May 2009