Testimonials to Kate and Newland Physiotherapy: dogs
" Jessie adopted me in 2004 shortly after she had broken her front left foreleg whilst training to be a racing greyhound. Her leg was very crooked so much so that she had to walk on the side of her foot. After several months of treatment she was left with a very pronounced limp and was often to be spotted holding her leg in the air!
Unfortunately in April 2007 she once again fractured the same leg in three places although this was not connected in any way to the previous injury. Having had orthopaedic surgery this improved the look of the leg, which was beautifully straight including her foot and toes. However as she was unable to use her leg for some time she lost the muscle tone and strength in it and I felt that she needed some physiotherapy. Jessie’s vet referred me to Kate who has been treating her for a couple of months and there has certainly been a great improvement. Although Jessie still holds her leg in the air at times, which I am sure is psychological after such a lot of problems, she is able to walk and put pressure on that leg and her muscles are improving greatly.
I am certainly glad that Jessie and I have met Kate and I would be more than pleased to recommend her. Kate has a very kind and gentle way with animals and Jessie really looks forward to her visits with her lovely dog Buster. I have also had the benefit of Kate’s treatment regarding a problem with both of my arms so this shows just how versatile she is.
Jessie has proved to be a really lovely pet and, I imagine as with most greyhounds, she is very gentle and loving. I have no worries with her when I am visited by my great nieces and nephews and they all love her to bits. If you get the chance to adopt a greyhound, please do not hesitate. You will never regret it."
"On the 6th July 2007 I took Skye for her annual booster, she had been stiff getting up, but once on the move nothing noticeable, other than poor conformation which was a roach back and being tucked up underneath. I didn’t mention anything to the vets, thinking if there was anything serious they would pick it up whilst checking her over.
Over the weekend she got progressively worse and became morose and quiet, sloping about and avoiding everyone. She stopped chasing shadows, her usual garden activity, refused to go upstairs and spent most of her time on her bed only getting up when necessary.
I took her back to the vets and they prescribed Rimadyl. An x-ray showed that she had arthritic joints in her thoracic spine at the end of her rib cage. A course of injections did not make much difference to her posture and she was referred for acupuncture with one of the other vets. Skye had four sessions of acupuncture over the summer and there was an improvement in her posture and she has still lost her ‘Joie de vie’.
We were then referred for physiotherapy with Kate. The improvement in Skye has been steady, it is a huge relief we no longer have a dog afraid to move because of pain. Kate’s treatments help to stabilise Skye’s back and increase her muscle bulk. We finally had a setter with good posture again. It appears that the pain in her back had probably been affecting her for some time before we noticed it.
The final stage of her rehabilitation was hydrotherapy sessions which has helped to improve her fitness and muscle strength. We are still careful with Skye and avoid rough and tumble with other dogs but we now have a happy and relaxed dog right at the centre of out family not sloping off on her own."
Clare Harwood
"Kati had obviously damaged her back left leg whilst tearing about on the beach with her pal, and had been “carrying” the leg for sometime. Our vet had prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs and injections, which did temporarily help. However, the muscle was obviously wasting and it was important to find a solution as she is a relatively young dog. My own Physio recommended Kate, and right from the start it was apparent Kate’s treatment was making a significant difference. She built the wasted muscle right up and Kati was quickly back to running on all fours again! Kate is both extremely approachable and very professional and we would certainly recommend her to anyone who is looking to help their pet."
Sue Harmon-Smith
"Our dog Monty, a 5 year old Saint Bernard came down in June 2006 with severe neck pain, he was completely normal out for the morning walk, we arrived home to find him stood awkwardly, holding his neck to one side, walking around in circles, and in a lot of pain. We took him to our vets who prescribed painkillers, and advised to completely rest him, and to use a harness when gradually commencing short gentle walks.
He did recover but in September and October flared up again, he was normal in every other way walking, going to the toilet, eating, and she did say we could have him in for x-rays, MRI scans, ultrasound etc but unless we went in surgically and operated on him, it wouldn’t really be of any point, obviously our worry was that he had a tumour of some sort pressing on something but as it occurred in flare-ups, the vet seemed to think that would be very unlikely.
I am a member of an online Saint Bernard forum, and a very well known Saint judge advised us to go down the route of physiotherapy, so I typed in on the internet and Kate came up straightaway, I then got in contact with her, checked with my vet, forms were signed and off we went to our first visit.
I need to say that I was hopeful but also a bit sceptical that this would work, Kate said that he was very tight mainly in his neck but also way down his spine, he was a little monkey and refused to lay on one side, obviously as he was very wary that this had caused him a great deal of pain in the past.
After the first visit, my goodness he was extremely tired and slept all the way home in the van, bearing in mind he never completely settles and goes to sleep! to be honest we couldn’t see any major difference at home.
However after the second visit, he was a different dog, it was absolutely amazing, he laid on both sides and really relaxed as she was going over him, he was like a puppy at home, so much more energy, it brought tears to our eyes watching him playing with his brother, enjoying going for walks, squeaking his toys basically not suffering. I have to say as well that Monty has for a long time been a bit grumpy when moving him off the sofa, we always used to lead him off with his collar, and since the physio this has stopped, so we can only imagine that he had been suffering with this ailment for quite a while
We are just so thankful to Kate for everything she has done for Monty, I don’t know what we would have done if we had not met her, our poor boy was in so much pain it broke our hearts to watch him. I just wish that more vets would go down this road rather than intrusive operations, because it worked for us. "
Vicki Baber, Craig Wittin and Monty xx
" Benji
our toy poodle was referred to Kate by our vet after an operation
to repair his cruciate ligament. Although the operation was a success
Benji was still not using the affected leg: being small it was easier
for him to simply run around on three! Being a nervous little dog he
was initially quite uncooperative but Kate’s kind manner and
expertise soon won him over and within a couple of weeks he was running
around normally on all fours again. We are delighted with the result
and would wholeheartedly recommend Kate’s physiotherapy services.
We would definitely use her again should the need arise. "
Caroline Hunt
" Shadow is recovering from a right hip replacement,
which was needed due to arthritis. Once Shadow had had his six-week post
op check with the vet we went back to Kate for physiotherapy. She had
started physiotherapy with him before his operation as he already has
a lot of wasting of the muscles in his hind limbs.
After six
weeks of physiotherapy I could see how much the muscles in his hind leg
had bulked up and Shadow was moving more easily all the time. When
Shadow first went for physiotherapy he had a lot of muscle tension and
weakness in his hind limb. Kate started his rehabilitation with
gentle massage and stretching techniques followed by muscle stimulation.
Shadow is now doing exercises in the garden over small obstacles to build
up his strength. The best part from my point of view is that he loves
his sessions and can’t wait to get into the vets to see Kate.
I have been glad of Kate’s support during Shadow’s recovery from his hip surgery. It is a scary thing to go through with an animal who can’t tell you how they are feeling. Seeing Kate at our weekly sessions was as good for me as it has been for Shadow. He is well on the way to recovery and following Kate’s advice he enjoys twice weekly paddles at the beach where we both get wet. "
Lorna Foster
