Pain…It Hurts!!!

Have you ever had an injury of some sort?  What did it feel like?  Did you yell, curse, or cry (or maybe all of the above)?  Those are all common ways for people to react to pain.  Our nervous system and that of our pets is almost identical in the way it works.  Therefore, it is safe to assume… Read more

Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cell therapy is a recently developed technology for use in our pets.  Stem cells have been a hot topic of debate in human medicine due to use of embryos to harvest them.  The technology in pets, however, is slightly different.  We use adult stem cells harvested from your own pet’s fat to… Read more

Apollo

Apollo is our fifth stem cell recipient.  He is a two year old Saint Bernard with hip dysplasia.  He was treated with injections into each of his hips and an IV injection (July 2010).  Apollo came in for his first recheck exam recently and is doing very well.  According to his owner, he seems… Read more

Monty

Our patient, Dr. Burcham’s own dog (Monty), is the lucky dog who is the first in Kansas and greater Kansas City to undergo stem cell therapy. Monty, a geriatric shepherd mix adopted from Animal Haven in 2003, received an injection of stem cells that were processed from his own fat tissue,… Read more

Frank

Frank is our second case that we treated with stem cells.  Frank is a 3 year old pug who has severe hip dysplasia.  He already has arthritis in his hips and is showing signs related to pain.  His owner wanted to be very proactive about his hips and chose to treat him at an early age.  Here are… Read more

Louie

Louie is a 13 year old Australian Shepherd mix.  We first got the chance to meet Louie and his person in early March.  At the time, Louie had a significant limp on his left rear leg.  He has moderate to severe arthritis in his left knee and both hips.  He also has mild arthritis in his right… Read more

Maddy

Maddy was our fourth recipient of stem cell therapy.  Maddy, a black lab, was 11 years old at the time of her treatment (April 2010).  She suffers from severe arthritis in her left knee, left hip, and right elbow.  We experienced some setbacks with her treatment, including FedEx mis-routing the… Read more

Exercise for arthritic pets

Exercise is a very important part of treating pets with arthritis. Exercise helps maintain muscle strength and increases comfort and flexibility of the joints.  Exercise also aids in weight loss, another important aspect of managing arthritis.  Exercising the arthritic pet can be very challenging… Read more

An overview of osteoarthritis pain

Pain in pets is a subject that is very important to pet owners and to us as their veterinarians.  Pain affects your pet’s quality of life and overall well being.  Osteoarthritis (arthritis) is the most common cause of pain that we see in our pets.  Arthritis is caused by damage to the… Read more

Nutrition and Weight Loss

If your pet is overweight or obese and is suffering from arthritis, weight loss is a must.  Many pets will be much more comfortable simply by losing a few pounds.  Often times all that is required is to decrease how much you feed your pet by 25 percent.  Decreasing the number treats and table… Read more

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