Canine rehab can be an important tool on the road to recovery.
by Paula Piatt
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“Jax isn’t walking.”Sean Pesesky stood in the Detroit airport, his mind racing with a million different thoughts. He’d just left his seven-year-old chocolate Lab at the kennel. He was happy, healthy, playing with his friends, starting his own vacation. And now his brother is on the phone telling him Jax can’t walk?Looking at the departures board, he knew he could go anywhere in the world. “Wherever you’re taking Jax, let me know and I’ll be there,” he told his brother, who ultimately got the pup to Cornell University’s Companion Animal Hospital. The diagnosis of a spinal stroke left the dog’s hind end paralyzed, and an infection had him in rough shape. Cutting his trip short and heading back east, Pesesky visited Jax at Cornell. The news was not good.
“He was in absolutely terrible [shape],” remembers Pesesky, who disregarded the advice of immediate euthanasia. His mom convinced him to take Jax home where the vet could come the next morning after a night of treats, ice cream, and cuddles in familiar surroundings.”I woke up the next morning and there he was, bright-eyed and he had the ball in his mouth. It was the best news ever.”
But Jax still couldn’t walk on his own, he needed a catheter, dressings needed to be changed; the pup needed Pesesky more than ever. And Pesesky needed help, too. He had to find a way to get Jax back on his feet; it would not only give him some mobility (and a better quality of life), but could also mean he wouldn’t need the catheter.
“I was grasping for anything,” remembers Pesesky. He found an answer nearby: Zoomies Canine Rehab and Wellness, about a half hour from home. Whitney Mitchell, MPT, and a certified canine rehabilitation therapist, opened Zoomies in 2019. Trained in human physical therapy, she “went to the dogs” after her own Lab, a two-year-old yellow named Kahlua, had a tough time recovering from a second stifle (knee) surgery. Her surgeon recommended rehab.
“What do you mean, take her to PT? I’m a PT!” said Mitchell, who spent 20-plus years stretching, massaging, lasering, and exercising humans. After seeing not only Kahlua’s recovery but the healing in other dogs, she realized that combining her love of therapy and rehab with her love of animals and dogs was her calling. Since her 2019 certification from the Canine Rehabilitation Institute (CRI) in Springfield, Missouri, her patients now have four legs.
Read the rest of Paula’s article in the upcoming November/December issue! What else will you find?
- Labs on the Move: Standards of safe car travel. By Sue Alexander
- Back on Their Feet: Canine rehab can be an important tool on the road to recovery. By Paula Piatt
- A Cue to Look At You: Teaching a positive interrupter cue. By Cindy Howle
- 2024 Holiday Gift Guide
- Subscriber Photos
- Labrador Curiosities: Canine compulsive disorders. By Paula Piatt
- Sticks and Stones: They’re best to avoid. By Tom Goldsmith
- In Tribute
- In Their Debt: Ready to Rumble. By Jen Reader
- The Vet Clinic: Abscesses By Dr. Ben J. Character
- Citizen Lab: Handling the sensitive Lab. By Amy Dahl
- The Water Bowl: Holiday treats!
- The World According to Junior: What is Junior thankful for? By Junior Watson
