BARC News

We wish you very Happy New Year!

Thank you for your continued support!

Coming to BARC in 2018!!

Home Visits - We bring our expertise to you, including evaluations,

acupuncture, cart fitting and therapy.

Patient Transportation - we pick up your pet for day boarding and/or

rehabilitation services at our clinic and deliver them safely back home.

Patient Spotlight: Maxwell Roderman

Maxwell is an 8-year-old pug who suffered a cerebellar stroke or vascular event on 8/31/17 with symptoms of vomiting and falling over. He was seen by a neurologist right away and at that time was non-ambulatory and with a left head tilt. Prior medical history included lumbosacral decompression surgery years prior with no correlation to current episode.

He was evaluated at BARC on September 13th 2017 and at that time was still having episodes of falling over and was being crate rested at home and taken out for bathroom breaks only. We found him to be a happy, excited and active dog however he was unable to stand on his own or walk without being held up, as he tended to fall to the left. He had delayed proprioception (knowing where his feet were) in his right front limb and both of his rear limbs. He had very little tail movement and from the evaluation we found him to be an excellent candidate for treatment including acupuncture and physical therapy.

Maxwell came to us 2-3 times each week for one-hour long sessions consisting of acupuncture and physical therapy treatments including LASER, manual work, and exercises specifically designed to help him regain his function and be able to walk again. As you can see in the video he made excellent progress going from being unable to stand in mid-September to running by Halloween! It was hard work on everyone’s part and dedication of his wonderful owners that made his outcome a success. Way to go Maxwell!

To Brace Or Not To Brace…

With so many dogs tearing the cruciate ligaments in their knees (equivalent of ACL in human knees), we get asked all the time if a brace would be appropriate. The answer is that in some cases yes, and in others no. For owners wishing to avoid surgery (for various reasons) a brace can be quite helpful in stabilizing the knee and allowing the dogs to return to an active lifestyle. If the dog is having cruciate surgery a brace is not necessary because the surgery itself will stabilize the joint and in the end the brace may only be used for the period before and possibly immediately after surgery but not long term.

The other thing to consider is the dog. Some dogs will wear the brace and adjust to it rather quickly and walk normally as if they aren’t wearing a brace. Other dogs will hesitate to walk or put their foot down with a brace on thus making the brace rather useless. When a brace is the appropriate choice we choose to have a custom brace made to fit that dog versus an off the shelf brace based on dog’s size/weight. The brace we use is from a company called Go Hero and their website is www.GoHeroGo.com. This brace, as seen on Ziva and Lamar in the pictures, requires the dog’s leg to be measured, casted and photographed and then the cast is sent in to have the brace made from the casting. The cost of the brace is around $800.00 and it is very durable and should last several years.

If your dog has a torn cruciate ligament, ask us if a brace is right for your dog!

Get To Know Dr. Elizabeth Craig

Where are you from? Suburb of Chicago, IL

What do you like to do when not at work? But I'm always at work.... Hiking. I just started taking piano lessons. Playing/caring for my son. Crochet. Photography.

Favorite color? Grey - like a silvery grey. And yes, I always spell it with an "e".

Favorite food? bacon wrapped dates :)

What got you interested in working in rehab? It started out with me working with hospice patients and realizing that there is more that can be done to help control pain other than just giving a pill. These patients also seemed to benefit from massage and stretches. I began looking at the research and decided that overall, the pain pathway is really really cool and there is so much more that can be done. This caused me to get certification in acupuncture and hopefully continue with certification programs as rehab specialist and as a pain management practitioner with the IVAPM

What is a fun fact about yourself? In a time long ago, I designed lighting for stage productions and was an awesome stage manager.

Any unusual talents? When watching a animated movie or voice-over, I can typically identify the voice within a few minutes if I've heard it before.

Have you been on any fun or unusual vacation spots? I've been exploring in Germany, cast netting in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico, hiking in the Appalachian mountains, looking at the wonder of crazy horse memorial in South Dakota, feeling the impact of the AZ crater, walking along the edge of the Grand Canyon, gazing at the wonder of the red sand beaches and frozen ocean of Prince Edward Island, whale watching in Gloucester, MA...

Dr. Debra Voulgaris, DVM, CVA, CCRP

Disaster Preparedness For Your Pets

The recent fires in California have taught us that we need to be prepared, sometimes with very little notice, to take action. Careful planning is especially important for animals with special needs, who may not be ambulatory or may need certain medications regularly.

Remember if it isn’t safe for you, it isn’t safe for your pets.

• Don’t wait to get ready. Always bring pets indoors at the first sign or warning of a storm, disaster or evacuation and load them into their carriers. Pets can become disoriented and wander away from home in a crisis or become fearful and hide inside or be difficult to load into a carrier. Discuss with your vet some natural supplement that may be useful to help your animal companion stay calm.

• If you have a fire or earthquake drill for your family, include your pets. Practice makes perfect and can be a fun team building exercise. Who is in charge of what?? Time it. Make sure everyone knows what their role is so that safe evacuation can go smoothly.

• Make sure all pets wear collars and tags with up-to-date identification information. Have their name and your name, cell number. Make sure your pets... read more