Success Stories
Hill's "Joint Diet" Rids Doberman Pinscher of Arthritis Pain
Arthritis is a progressive disease that can make your pet’s life miserable. Pets experience pain from arthritis as acutely as people do. There are many different treatment options for the symptoms of this painful condition. When thinking of managing arthritis, many people think that taking medication is the only remedy.
Here at Cleveland Road, we do our best to think outside the box. We like to treat patients in ways that are both effective and comprehensive. In many cases, advanced arthritis may need to be treated with certain medications but there are quite a few patients that don’t need prescription medications. Here is one patient that proves that medication is not the only answer to arthritis.
Bailey is an 8-year old Doberman Pinscher. Weighing in at 85 pounds, Bailey is not a small dog and therefore is more likely to develop arthritis earlier in life. Around May of 2010, Bailey started showing signs of pain after activity. She is an active girl and an avid Frisbee player. Her owners started noticing that the day after she played Frisbee, she had more trouble standing up than usual; she seemed very sore and achy. Her owners also noticed that Bailey would lose control of her legs while on their hard floors and slip and fall if she was moving too fast.
Bailey was brought to us because she was having trouble with her hips. Dr. Chad performed some testing to make sure that she didn’t have any bone fractures or other illnesses and came to the conclusion that she had the beginning stages of arthritis. Since Bailey had only the beginning stages of arthritis, Dr. Chad recommended starting on a diet specifically for joint health.
The diet that Bailey started is called Hill’s J/D; the J/D standing for ‘Joint Diet.’ This diet is specifically formulated to renew, lubricate and protect existing cartilage in your pet’s joints. It has ingredients like Glucosamine and Omega-3 fatty acids that are good for skin and hair coat, as well. J/D is one of the most recommended diets for dogs and cats that are at the beginning stages of arthritis; it can also be used for those pets that are at risk for future arthritis. Furthermore, this kind of diet is something that works well with animals currently being treated for arthritis with medications, as part of a comprehensive plan. J/D also has added ingredients to help maintain a healthy weight in your pet, as being overweight can be a main cause of arthritis.
Bailey’s owners noticed a dramatic change in her activity level as well as her comfort level after about a month. She is no longer having trouble after her Frisbee time and she has much better control of her legs while on slippery floors. Bailey’s owners are quite thrilled that the J/D has done such a fantastic job and they would recommend it to anyone who has a pet with arthritis or joint pain.
So if you have a pet that seems to be less active, seems uncomfortable, has trouble getting up after sitting or laying down for extended periods, or has trouble keeping balance on slippery floors, call us here at Cleveland Road and we would be glad to examine your pet and decide if J/D is the right choice for you!
Advance diagnostics at CRAH lead to speedy recovery!
Meet Mack, a 12 year old canine patient of CRAH. Mack is typically a happy dog and has even survived cancer in the past, but on a recent frigid day in January, Mack’s owners knew something wasn’t right with him. He was not eating likely he usually does and he was just not acting himself.
Upon investigation by Dr Chad, Mack was found to be in acute liver failure, however the cause of this was not known. Mack was immediately started on supportive treatments for his condition and spent the weekend receiving critical care at our hospital.
To diagnose the underlying cause of Mack’s condition, a biopsy would need to be taken so that the liver tissue could be examined by a pathologist under the microscope. Typically this involves a major surgery where a veterinarian makes an incision into Mack’s belly and then physically reaches into his abdomen to locate his liver and retrieve the biopsy samples, leading to a month long surgical recovery period on top of his ongoing liver disease.
Fortunately for Mack, recent advances at CRAH allow us to use ultrasound to visualize the organs in the belly, look for tumors or signs of infection, and most importantly obtain biopsy samples through a very small 2mm incision without putting Mack through anesthesia and a major surgery.
Turns out, Mack had an infection of his liver, and responded very well to medications, and Mack’s owner was relieved to learn there was no evidence of cancer at this time! Thanks to the advanced diagnostics offered at Cleveland Road, Mack avoided a major surgery and is back to his old self in several days instead of several weeks or months! Congratulations Mack!
Say hello to Miss Emmy, one of CRAH’s favorite success stories!:
One day Emmy was just minding her own business when a gigantic football player in her home accidentally stepped on her! Needless to say, Emmy was seriously injured and rushed into Cleveland Road Animal Hospital first thing in the morning. Dr Stephanie saw that Emmy was having significant trouble breathing and immediately began oxygen therapy and pain medication.
X-rays were taken and a severe problem was noted, Emmy’s stomach was up around her heart and lungs in her chest. This condition is called diaphragmatic hernia, and occurs when there is a traumatic tear in the muscle that divides the chest from the abdomen. When this occurs, it becomes extremely difficult to breathe. In this X-ray, the large dark circle in the middle of her body is her stomach which is half in the chest and half in the abdomen, yikes!
After discussing Emmy’s critical condition and life threatening injury with her owners, Dr. Chad and Dr Stephanie explained that emergency surgery was needed to repair the hernia and place her stomach back 
where it should be in her abdomen. Surgery was performed immediately to repair her injuries under extremely close anesthetic observation by Trisha, one of our registered veterinary technicians. Trisha also had to manually breathe for little Emmy for over 2 hours! During surgery, a very large tear in Emmy’s diaphragm was noted. This damage was so severe in such a small patient that initially it was thought to be unrepairable. Desperate to save Emmy after all she had been through, Dr Chad improvised by using the lining of the abdominal cavity, called the peritoneum, to create an artificial diaphragm by attaching this tissue to the little remaining diaphragm muscles on the left side of Emmy’s body. This technique has not been performed before at Cleveland Road Animal Hospital, however Emmy was a special patient who needed a special surgery.
As you can see in the picture, Emmy recovered remarkably well from her ordeal, and after several weeks of TLC from her family at home, Emmy is back to acting like a playful kitten again. The Doctors and Staff at CRAH are fully trained in Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Surgery, and General Medicine and in an extreme case like Emmy, all of our skills become crucial to a successful outcome. When you bring your pet to Cleveland Road, you can be assured that we are capable of handling all of your pet’s veterinary needs!
J-Man’s success story:
Say hello to J-Man! J-Man had been coming to our clinic for quite some time with sores on his feet from licking, chewing, and biting himself. Several traditional treatment plans had been tried on him including steroids and antibiotics. While J-man was boarding with us for a few weeks, we even went so far as to soak his feet in an antibacterial solution twice daily in addition to his ongoing medications for the duration of his stay. While the sores on his feet improved slightly, his discomfort continued and his feet never healed all the way. In fact, his symptoms would often worsen immediately after medications were finished.
Then we tried a different approach. Dr. Chad offered a new medication to J-Man’s owner to treat his allergies called Atopica, and J-man’s owners were happy to try something new. When J-Man came in one month later, he looked like a totally different dog! The sores on his feet were drastically improved and he was not licking or chewing at them like he was. The hair was even beginning to grow back! We were so glad to see not only his success, but also knowing that J-Man was obviously more comfortable and not itching anymore.
If you have a pet that is constantly itching, scratching, losing hair, or has an odor of the skin, your pet could also be suffering from allergies like J-Man. Itching, skin irritation, and especially constant licking of the feet are signs of this common problem, which can be caused from a variety of allergens; including dust mites, pollens and other common microscopic particles.
Schedule an appointment with the doctors at Cleveland Road Animal Hospital to discuss your pet’s treatment options today. While there is no cure for allergies, an appropriate management plan can be custom designed for your pet by the doctors at Cleveland Road. We believe that every pet is unique, and every household requires their own special treatment plan for complicated diseases like atopic dermatitis. In J-Man’s case, the use of Atopica was an integral part of his treatment plan. Atopica is an oral medication that acts to alter the body’s allergic response and has proven beneficial to numerous allergic pets across the country.
Just ask J-Man how happy he is with his current treatment plan and the care he receives from the entire staff at Cleveland Road. I am sure you will get a big wet kiss of approval!