Pet Rehab: Underwater Workouts Helping Injured Dogs
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) – A new way to walk your dog has owners of injured pets packing a Roseville clinic.
"We come three days a week," said dog owner Lori Dunbar.
Ten-year-old "Misty" wasn't getting enough exercise after being hit by a car and losing a leg.
"She was up to 105 pounds," Dunbar said.
But now, Dunbar says that an underwater workout is really making a splash.
"She's down to a hundred now, she might lose another 10 pounds," Dunbar said.
Misty is fetching a new figure with the help of hydrotherapy at Roseville's Johnson Ranch Veterinary Clinic.
"Her main problem was that she would walk a few feet and just sit down and stop, and a lot of that was because her poor three little legs were carrying around so much extra weight," said Dr. Karen Johnson, the clinic's veterinarian.
Dr. Johnson recently expanded her clinic in a larger location, adding extra space for the high-tech tools that treat her patients – like 11-year-old "Amy," who's getting laser therapy to keep her arthritis from aching.
"Since we've come here she can walk around the block, where we couldn't do that before," said Amy's owner Kathi Karish.
And despite the cost, Misty's owner says these workouts are worth it.
"Because I've been disabled, I've had a stroke in the past, and I know what it's like to have limitations." Dunbar said.
The Johnson Ranch Pet Rehabilitation Center's new facility also has a large outdoor exercise area, and they are planning on adding a second underwater treadmill soon.
