Stan, Emma Gardner’s 9 year old miniature dachshund suffered a forelimb injury when he landed awkwardly jumping out of a stationary car in September last year.
“He was in shock and appeared to be paralysed”, says Emma “so I rushed him straight to the vet”.
After an overnight stay at the surgery, receiving pain killers and fluids he was considered fit to go home knowing that his right foreleg wasn’t broken but very badly strained. To prevent weight bearing Stan’s leg was placed in a sling in order to completely rest the limb.
After 3 days Emma removed the sling as the vet had advised but was disappointed to see that Stan was limping badly. “Even though I’m a qualified nurse I was unsure what I could do to help Stan and I hated seeing him so uncomfortable. That is when a friend recommended physiotherapy with Sandy Goard. She told me that Sandy had treated her horse a few months earlier, with great results.”
“I contacted Sandy for a home appointment during which Stan underwent a thorough assessment. She handled Stan extremely confidently and it was obvious that Stan trusted Sandy because of his relaxed response to her intervention. He definitely enjoyed the laser therapy that was applied to the affected area and was very calm throughout his treatment. Sandy gave me a very clear interpretation of what was wrong with Stan, demonstrating an excellent knowledge base. She watched me perform the prescribed exercises Stan was expected to undergo before the next treatment and also gave me advice about Stan’s management”.
It transpired that Stan had strained the tendon of the biceps brachii muscle and needed rest and controlled exercise along with physiotherapy treatment.
“It took 3 visits from Sandy and 6 weeks of physiotherapy to get Stan back to normal. He is now completely healed and is running about as though the accident had never happened. There is no deficit in his movement and he is totally pain free. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Sandy to anyone with a pet in pain, because Stan really benefited from her treatment. She has a naturally good rapport with animals which makes them trust her and is also patient and sympathetic to – in my case – neurotic owners!”
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