MEET DORA!

Dora is a wonderful Podenco Rescue from Spain! We do not know her full history however, when we started seeing her she was roughly 1 year old.

Dora is a fantastic pup who quickly stole my heart with her beautiful ears and love of a cuddle! Her wonderful owners have welcomed this lovely girl into their hearts and helped support her both mentally and physically after a very unfortunate start to her life.

When Dora was found in Spain, she had been left at the side of the road, emaciated and broken in a bag! The rescue Galgo Del Sol were wonderful with her and performed multiple surgeries to help save and support her body. Her right hindlimb had been snapped across the femur bone and thus has a metal supporting plate, her left hock/ ankle joint had also sustained damage and now has stabilising pins throughout. Her right forelimb has been broken beyond repair and had "healed" in a difficult angle which meant she could not use it and would frequently catch/ knock it on things. She was brought to England and provided with a wonderful home where she could relax and heal after her surgeries whilst also acclimatising to life with her new family. Once she had settled, the right forelimb was amputated, which is when we had the pleasure of starting our journey with her in November 2023.

My first assessment identified severe atrophy (muscle loss due to disuse) and weakness throughout. She was unable to walk for longer than three car lengths in addition to difficulty maintaining a square stand. She would avoid using her right hindlimb, showing restrictions in her hips, stifle (knee), and tarsal (ankle) joints through both sides- more so through the right side. Compensations (abnormal muscle development, posture and movement in response to reduced use of a specific area- joint or limb) were present throughout her body. Whilst her body was having to learn to redistribute the weight that should have been supported by her right front leg, she was also trying to offload both hindlimbs so her left forelimb and spinal muscles were taking the brunt of the work showing discomfort and increased tension.

In our first couple of sessions, Dora was quite subdued and would try to lay down throughout (due to her weakness, she did not have the strength to maintain a standing position and was unable to sit), however, it wasn't long until her cheeky side came to the light and it has only been up since there! Our treatment sessions focus on improving her overall comfort and reducing the occurrence of compensations, the stronger she is becoming the less compensations are developing which is wonderful to see! Our main goal at this point is to continue developing her muscular strength whilst also maintaining good joint health to reduce the risk of osteoarthritis developing (as she needs to support her weight with only four legs, the amount of pressures and forces going through the remaining limb joints is more so the risk of developing osteoarthritis at a younger age is increased)

What is Usually Completed in Our Sessions?

• LASER/ Photobiomodulation therapy to help support her joint health particularly through her stifle, tarsal, elbow and carpal joint. This therapy also helps to reduce the level of discomfort we find throughout her back and shoulder musculature.

• Heat therapy to help improve mobility of the soft tissue, this allows deeper manual work to be performed. Applying the heat also helps to further reduce discomfort for her.

• Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy is applied to further improve her comfort, as these surgeries had been performed months prior to our sessions, the discomfort is recognised as chronic (long lasting and stubborn).

• Lots of massage and myofascial release to help support and boost her muscular and fascial health and mobility, providing the necessary foundations for strengthening and supporting the target areas.

• Joint mobilisation and stretching to help further improve the health of the joint and surrounding tissues, this improved her flexibility, supports improving the functionality of the scar tissue and helps increase her comfort further.

• Introduction of exercises! These exercises are bespoke to Dora and her current level, these progress throughout the weeks as we are seeing her strength and development increase! These aften target areas such as her core and hindlimb strength.

What Improvement Have We Seen So Far?

• Improvement in her hindlimb comfort- she now happily allows full palpation of all musculature!

• Huge improvement in comfort! In the beginning, Dora would cry out in pain whilst doing "normal" things like walking, turning and playing, no Dora doing whatever she likes (within reason!) with full comfort!

• Improved strength and stamina! Dora has gone from not being able to complete a 10 minute walk to racing around with her whippet siblings, swimming, completing sit to stand exercises and generally doing "dog things"

• Improved fluidity of movement, Dora used to use her hindlimbs in unison, showing s shuffle- skip movement, now her hindlimbs are separated and placed individually!

• Huge improvement in muscular development and quality!

Tracking Dora's' improvement in standing posture, weight bearing and limb angulation across the first 6 months!

Dora after 12 months!

What Are Our Current Goals?

• Continue to maintain and improve her current level of fitness

• Continue to manage and support her muscles and joints in response to her surgeries

• Continue to strengthening her muscles encouraging symmetrical development

What Is A Must Have For Our Sessions?

• Salmon licks!

Don't Just Take Our Word For It! Here is what Dora's Owner Have to Say:

What Encouraged You To Begin Physiotherapy With Dora?

When we rescued Dora, the deal with the rescue agency was that whoever adopted her needed to be able to commit to her high level of need with physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. When this skinny puppy with a strange walk met me off the rescue van, I really understood how much she needed to be rehabilitated and helped to get more comfortable.

Have You Seen An Improvement In Her Since Starting Physiotherapy?

Huge Improvements! The photos show how extensive her muscle gain has been and when I look back at previous videos of the way Dora used to walk, it really shocks me. I didn't realise how bad her walking was until it improved so much!

Why Did You Choose Every Step Veterinary Physiotherapy?

I was recommended Every Step by a friend and absolutely loved that Kye could come to our house. With a full time job and a family, this makes life so much easier for us and makes it so much easier to commit to Dora's sessions. Kye's genuine love and passion for the animals she treats (and children who always disrupt the sessions!) makes her such a great person to go on this journey with.

Would You Recommend Physiotherapy For Another Animal In A Similar Position?

Yes absolutely. I am always recommending physio to other owners now and people have been so impressed by Dora's recovery that they can see the benefits. I think I will have some sessions for my other dogs eventually to support them through the aging process.