In the spring of 2003, Alley was hurt at a local canine fitness center as a result of the facility owner's careless actions.  I knew he was not knowledgeable in canine health or rehabilitation despite the facility advertising as such.  I thought as long as I personally swam her, everything would be ok.  However, it only took a few seconds of my attention on my younger dog for him to exercise poor judgment that resulted in a bad fall sideways onto her knee.  She had to have meniscus surgery to correct the injury.  While I wish daily I never took Alley to that facility, the only thing I can do now is try to educate others before they take their dog to a similarly unqualified staffed facility.  I wish I had known that my state law only allows for such services to be performed by a veterinarian.  This facility is in violation of that law.

There are two excellent facilities in my greater area that are veterinarian supervised and have certified physical therapists performing the rehabilitation services.  One PT has just completed the University of Tennessee's Canine Rehab Certification program (the only certification program in the US), and the other is currently in that program.  I asked one of those animal rehabilitation therapists, Amie Hesbach of Mid-Atlantic Animal Specialty Hospital, to compile what a dog owner should think about and questions to ask the facility before deciding on taking their dog to a similar place.  The links below consist of her document's information.  You can download Amie's document as well to share among teammates.  Learn from Alley's incident, and be careful of any facility you choose to utilize.  It's worth the drive for qualified staff! 

Alley has torn her ACLs in the past and thanks to Dr. Nwadike's recommended physical therapy, she fully returned to searching. So I've bought Alley a portable home spa and hopefully with the guidance of her qualified PT's, she will again return to searching for years to come. 

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Last modified: February 23, 2010