Rocky: A Case Study

There’s nothing we love more than sharing our furry friends’ success stories! Witnessing the progress of their hard work firsthand is the best reward we could ever imagine. Today we’d like to share Rocky’s inspiring story! Rocky is a 7-year-old lab who had a double (bilateral) femoral head and neck excision (FHO) as a puppy for severe congenital hip dysplasia. He was experiencing chronic pain for over several years as he began aging. He’d been seeing a physical therapist and was taking conventional medications. 

Meet Rocky!

Rocky’s mom had a goal to help ease his pain, anxiety, and fear of being touched on his back end by humans and other dogs. Although he’s full of energy and excitement, the daily pain he suffered from was noticeable. The impact of it really slowed him down. During his initial appointment, we measured Rocky’s lameness to get an understanding of the severity of his pain. His results were an 8 out of 10 lame, with 10 being a non-weight-bearing limb. His score of 8 meant he was very lame on one leg but was still able to place a tiny amount of weight on his fourth leg. But the majority of his total body weight was being supported by only 3 legs. 

We treated Rocky with laser therapy and acupuncture and sent him home with a recovery plan. He had a fresh food recipe and an herbal formula for pain and inflammation, which he was able to have with his other medications. A week later, Rocky’s mom emailed us with good news! Rocky was doing great and limping far less! His anxiety had also eased and he was feeling calmer. Rocky loved his food and his mom saw also noticed further improvement once he changed his diet to fresh food. By Rocky’s second treatment, about 2 weeks later, he measured 5 out of 10 lame, which was a great improvement in a short amount of time. He had more energy and a more relaxed disposition. 

We now see Rocky once a month for maintenance acupuncture. He is still on a diet of herbs and fresh food. It does our hearts good to see him bounding out of the car and running into the office. The only time he experiences lameness is after a long day of playing hard. Rocky is happy to be able to play more and enjoy being around his loved ones every day without a care in the world!