Joycare Media: All about PT for Animals

01/15/2025

Excellent. Dry, shaken, not stirred. Now that I have your attention: more and more I'm hearing frustrating reports from clients who are unwilling to pay $140 and up for a single underwater treadmill session it at a so-called Physical Therapy Center within large Veterinary hospitals. And if that comes with other therapies it's well over $200 a pop. Oh and you can buy a series of six underwater treadmills paid up front and if you don't use them all there's no refund. Please have your credit card ready. First of all, you can't call it Physical Therapy unless you have licensed physical therapist providing the service. If you have Vet Techs or veterinarians that have gone through canine rehab certification, you still can't call it Physical Therapy. You can call it canine rehabilitation. Or....you can call it major business revenue-creator. Or you can call it big time rip off. Yes, I said that. Pet owners tend to do a lot for their pets but people are not stupid. Yes, I am perturbed. Dr. Sue

01/14/2025

Cute! I don't recommend trying to self- fabricate a wheeled cart for your dog, but back in this time there were no cart companies nor therapy or rehabilitative services. Hard to imagine. But this owner found an ingenious way to support the dachshund's spine and use wheels!! Thanks to Doggon’ Wheels for posting this on their site. Doggon Wheels make good carts!

Fritz the dachshund with his homemade carriage crafted from roller skate parts. Manchester, UK, 1973. After losing the use of his hind legs in an accident, Fritz traded walkies for wheelies. His devoted owner, determined to give him a second chance, built the ingenious contraption to help him stay mobile and keep his zest for life.

01/13/2025

A pretty face + a tricky strategy: this adorable Tibetan Spaniel found a way to keep me from leaving today. Standing on my file holder and looking at me with wide-eyed adorableness!

01/09/2025

Here we go again.....these nosey little patients always checking my chart documentation.......bossing me around......wanting treats......and I love it!!!

01/08/2025

Propping up Cookie into a sitting position to strengthen her neck, spine and forelimb musculature. She now moves 4 times per day in her custom quad cart by Eddie's Wheels for Pets, about 0.2/mi each, so nearly a mile per day!!! No UTIs! Great care by her owner too.

01/07/2025

PSA: "I'm not raising veal" is a bad thing to say to your post-surgery dog's PT Doctor as she outlines activity restrictions.

01/06/2025

Yes I am working today. (a little snow doesn't stop Dr. Sue!)

01/05/2025

So true, Dr. Pol!

Happy ! Birds are tough, smart, and full of lessons if you pay close enough attention. 🐦

01/02/2025

This is an important concern. A zoonotic disease that spreads rapidly among same species but can also be contracted by other animals in contact with infected avians, such as outdoor cats. My understanding is that it's much less often transmitted to humans but can be dangerous for human beings if highly exposed. I recommend people empty their bird feeders as the birds can find their own food. Some people like to feed the birds close to their house and I strongly advise against this especially if your pet is going outdoors and sharing the same ground surface. We need to help prevent the spread between avian communities, and keep our domestic pets away from birds. Hope this gets under control quickly. Be mindful of it. Thanks! Dr. Sue

⚠️ Important Update: High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) ⚠️

High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) also known as "bird flu" is a highly contagious viral disease of immediate concern. This virus primarily affects a wide range of bird species, but has recently been reported to impact certain mammalian species. According to the CDC, this has also been confirmed in humans.

Due to the resurgence of HPAI cases nationwide, we will no longer be able to triage or perform euthanasia for any wild birds at the hospital, including, raptors, falcons, geese, ducks, etc at this time. We will continue to evaluate privately owned domestic poultry and waterfowl with additional biosecurity measures and protocols.

If you find an injured wild bird, please contact the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife or the local animal control department. Be sure to have the exact location, species, and description of the problem for the department that is contacted.

If your domestic chicken, duck, or goose is having a medical problem, please contact us to discuss your concerns, so we can schedule you appropriately. These precautions are necessary to protect our patients, including other avian and mammalian species, as well as our staff, from potential exposure.

Since parrots, canaries, and finches are unlikely to contract the disease and our traditionally housed indoors, we will continue to see these patients as usual with no additional measures or precautions, at this time.

We will continue to analyze the situation and hope that we can see all species soon. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding as we prioritize the health and safety of everyone. Thank you for your cooperation during this time.

01/01/2025

Wishing everyone and their beloved pets a very happy, safe and successful 2025! Dr. Sue

12/31/2024

Well, there ya go.....it applies to PT for your pets too! .

APTA President Roger Herr, past President Sharon Dunn, and member Gammon Earhart spoke with at about the importance of preventive physical therapy for overall health and wellness.

https://tinyurl.com/3v2ap6j5

12/30/2024

I had a patient with a dew claw injury today, ( this photo doesn't show an injury but merely the position of the dewclaw in a normal pet) sustained by putting on/taking off a holiday-themed sweater and the dewclaw nail getting caught in the knitting. The client was asking about importance of dew claws and whether or not to have them removed as they can be a nuisance. My strong opinion is that they should never be removed unless they've been grossly disfigured due to an injury or the dog is born with congenital defects that render the dew claw useless or harmful. Otherwise, the dew claws are there for a purpose which is to help with climbing, rounding corners and making various turns on different types of terrain. Dogs and cats need and use their dewclaws. Make sure to have the dewclaw nails trimmed during your routine grooming. And be mindful of the dew claws when removing or donning certain types of clothing on your pet. Dr. Sue

12/23/2024

Holiday schedule this week: Dr. Sue working Monday & Tuesday. Off Christmas Day. Thurs.available for Telehealth after 5pm.

12/23/2024

Eleven months ago, Jan 15, 2024, I wrote and posted this blog article about Librela. In it, I share concern about the potential for harm in already-diagnosed neurological patients. And just a short time ago, FDA issues a warning: see below in comments. This is seriously and ridiculously too late. Animals have lost their lives over this. Many have also been helped by it. My point is that many of us felt and saw early on that inhibition of nerve growth factor as a way of relieving arthritis pain, could be devastating for a dog already having neurological deficits, as the mechanism isn't targeted but occurs all through the body. We're not geniuses. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Yet for some reason veterinarians began prescribing this for dogs with arthritis telling clients that there was no risk to the drug. This happened to at least three of my patients having arthritis but also spinal disc disease affecting the nerves, two of whom rapidly declined on its use and one developed seizures and died. I find it deeply troubling that clients were deceived, though probably not deliberately but by a lack of discernment on the part of their trusted veterinarian, and that it took nearly a year for FDA to issue this warning. Dr. Sue

Librela® (bedinvetmab) is a new once-monthly monoclonal antibody, given by subcutaneous injection, that is used for Osteoarthritis (OA)/also called Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) pain. Specifically, for OA that is docu...

12/19/2024

Discover the signs of stroke in pets, which can include sudden loss of balance, disorientation, or weakness on one side of the body. Recognizing these symptoms early can lead to timely veterinary intervention and better outcomes for your furry friends.

Strokes, in the classic sense, do not occur very often in dogs and cats. But they do occur. Two kinds of stroke are possible: in the brain or in the spine. Human beings get strokes in the brain much more often than in th...

12/18/2024

Posting this edited photo of a recent Telehealth PT session for a young Maine C**n male who suddenly developed flaccid paralysis. It appears to be a case of toxoplasmosis gondoii affecting gray matter in the cervical region. This dear boy is not an outdoor cat but may have been in contact with something eaten from a visiting friend's outdoor cat. Rarely it can transfer to humans, so this client was advised to wash her hands right after handling the cat for home exercises just to be safe. I recommended acupuncture and water therapy, along with the exercises. Cat is continent of bowel and bladder and can partially wag his tail so I'm hoping this indicates some potential for neurological improvement.

12/17/2024

Since Cookie has been walking in her quad cart she has gotten stronger and nearly climbed into my lap today!! Keep moving dear Cookie! Dr. Sue loves to snuggle you!

12/16/2024

Combined Sections Meeting is coming to Houston soon! Calling all PTs working with or wanting to work with animals to attend this session on Saturday Feb 15, 8:00-10:00 am. I will be presenting this session (though not a morning person....but I WILL be that day! Why is this lecture important? So many courses are available on treatment. But treatment is often the easy part. Proper examination and evaluation are harder but so vitally important to set goals and target your treatment to yield the best outcomes. This is an intermediate-to-advanced level session where we will learn the fine points of ligament testing, examining the evidence for the importance of specificity and sensitivity in our various techniques, and tackle the big question: Is PT Differential Diagnosis the practice of Veterinary Medicine? This will prove to be challenging and fun.