Water therapy helps dogs gain mobility

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Soothing, warm water, gentle massage and periodic snacks sound like services fit for a high-end spa, but a South Sound veterinarian is offering similar treatments for man's best friend.

Longtime veterinarian Gregg Bennett, who founded Tumwater Veterinary Hospital 20 years ago, has opened the nearby Four Paws Animal Rehabilitation this month to help dogs recover from orthopedic surgery or to ease pain associated with arthritic joints and other related ailments.

So far, Four Paws has five canine clients, Bennett said. He is open to working with other veterinarians but was not aware of one offering similar services in Thurston County, saying the nearest is at a veterinary hospital in Sumner, in Pierce County.

Dogs suffering from joint, bone and muscle pain usually are prescribed medication or face surgery, Bennett said. With water therapy and other new services, dogs and cats have another option to improve their quality of life, he said.

"It can make a big, big difference and maybe we don't have to put so many to sleep, and that's a good thing," Bennett said. The centerpiece of the 1,100-square-foot clinic in Tumwater at 712 Trosper Road S.W. is the 200-gallon water therapy tank.

With a treadmill at the bottom of the tank, the tanks are filled with 92-degree water and the dogs walk forward, enticed by snacks as the warm water helps to relax muscles, business manager Jacqie Irwin said. The buoyancy of the water also takes the weight off dogs' legs, she said.

Although water therapy is almost exclusively for dogs, cats can take advantage of cold and heat therapy and range-of-motion exercises, Bennett said.

Four Paws also offers neuromuscular stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound and therapeutic cold laser, a low-level laser used to accelerate tissue and cell repair, according to clinic information.

Costs vary; six sessions of water therapy cost $400, Irwin said.

After five sessions of water therapy, with a sixth appointment scheduled Friday, Cookie, a 7-year-old German shepherd dog, Labrador retriever mix female, is gaining more mobility in her two front legs, said owner Cindy Fazio of Tumwater, Wash.

Cookie has experienced swollen joints for three years, resulting in pain and a stiff gait, she said. Fazio said Cookie has tried surgery and medication, but before facing surgery again, she tried the water therapy and cold laser treatments.

Before the treatments, Cookie had learned to walk a certain way to avoid pain, such as not walking down Cindy and Dan Fazio's long, curved driveway.

"She just chose not to do certain things," Cindy Fazio said.

Today, Cookie hops into the water therapy tank in preparation for her treatments. Watching over her is her sister, Gypsy, who sometimes stands on the side of the tank to give Cookie a kiss, Fazio said.

"She (Cookie) has become a little more mobile and a little more pain free," she said.

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© 2008, The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.).