Yellow Lab with partial tear of CCL
I took Casey to my long-time Vet and they recommended X-rays to determine the extent of her injury. After putting Casey under anesthesia, the Vet was able to get some clear X-rays of both of her hind legs and determined that she had a partial tear of the CCL (Cranial Cruciate Ligament, which I understood to be similar to a human’s ACL) in her right hind leg and a “possible” partial tear of the CCL in her left hind leg. She was prescribed the anti-inflammatory Metacam to help to alleviate her pain. I was told that Casey needed to be immediately restricted from running, jumping and going up or down stairs because it wouldn’t take much for her partial tear to become a complete and severed ligament. I was told that surgery was an option but may cost upwards of $5000 per leg. This news was very upsetting to me. Not only did I want to avoid a $10 000 Vet bill, but Casey has already experienced two lump removal surgeries in her five short years of life so I was hoping to avoid putting her through another surgery if at all possible.
After sharing the news of Casey’s injury with my good friend, she told me that she had a friend named, Donna that was a Canine Bowen Therapist. My friend suggested that I check out Donna’s, “Pawsitive Healing” web site to learn more about Bowen Therapy and to see if I felt that it may help Casey. After reading Donna’s web site and her story of Scapa, I knew that I wanted to connect with Donna and see if she could help Casey.
I e-mailed Donna in February and was so thankful when she got back to me that same day. We set up a date later that week for Donna to come into my home to meet Casey and do an initial assessment of her injury. I was immediately impressed with Donna’s calm and caring nature and it was obvious that Casey loved Donna from the get-go. Donna’s love of dogs was immediately apparent and I could quickly sense her genuine concern for Casey. Donna took the time to suggest some things that I could be doing for Casey, in addition to restricting her movements. She recommended that I try giving Casey gelatin (either sprinkled onto her food in powder-form or as cubes in jelly-form, mixed with blueberries and carrot pieces, which Casey has now come to love!). Donna explained to me that gelatin was something that I could easily incorporate into Casey’s diet in order to help support cartilage growth in her joints and help to strengthen her ligaments, tendons and muscles. Donna also showed me some basic acupressure points that I could apply to Casey’s knee and leg and suggested that I apply ice to Casey’s leg as often as she’d let me. From February until May, Donna came to my home weekly to work with Casey (sometimes twice a week if Casey experienced a set-back and required a Rescue Recovery treatment) and she followed up every visit with an e-mail to check in to see how Casey was doing after the treatment. When Casey’s leg was particularly bad, Donna even generously offered to let me borrow some of her own personal items (such as a canine leg harness as well as a ramp that would allow Casey to get into and out of my SUV without me having to lift all 72 pounds of her!). Donna did not need to do these things, but I know she did so not only out of her complete care for Casey but also because she cared about what I was going through, as a fellow pet owner that would do anything for her dog. I feel that Donna’s wealth of knowledge and expertise in the area of Bowen Therapy, coupled with her genuine care and desire to take more of a holistic and natural approach to healing Casey’s stifle injury is truly what has helped Casey along her path to recovery. Thankfully, Casey is now doing very well and has been off of the Metacam for a few months. Although Casey’s movements are still being closely monitored and somewhat restricted to ensure she doesn’t reinjure herself, she has not required any treatments from Donna in the past two months. This is slightly bittersweet…because we do miss having her around!
Thank you, Donna, for all that you have done to help with Casey’s injury – from the technical aspects of Bowen Therapy that you offered her, to the encouragement that you offered to me when you sensed my worry and frustration seeing my four-legged family member go through such an injury. Your time, care and expertise were most greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jacklyn and Casey Newcombe
My five year old Labrador, Casey, loves “boot-scooting” around the backyard and especially loves rolling over on her back to “shimmy-shake” in the snow or the grass. I never thought that these puppy-like antics would result in a serious leg injury, but that is exactly what happened.
After one of Casey’s shimmy-shake sessions in the backyard in January, she flipped herself over and all of her body weight seemed to land on her hind legs. She let out a high-pitched squeal that I had never heard her make before and she was unable to get up on her own. After helping her onto her four legs, I quickly realized that she would not put her hind right leg down on the ground and therefore was not putting any weight on the leg. It was obvious that Casey was in a great deal of pain and discomfort. Watching her try to maneuver her way through the house (with hardwood floors and stairs) in the hours and days after the incident was heartbreaking. So off to the Vet we went!
Lhasa Poo suffering from neck and back pain
Chloe is a 10 year old Lhasa Poo who was experiencing recent neck and back pain. She had an MRI and a spinal tap done but a diagnosis was not provided.
She was currently on restricted activity, pain medication and weight reduction. Chloe had a herniated disc two years previous and was not able to roll over onto her back any longer. She also had double knee surgery 4 years ago.
I did a treatment on Chloe
The next day I received an email from her "Mom" stating Chloe had slept throughout the night and was full of beans that morning! In fact, Chloe insisted on walking further than her normal restricted short walk.
The following week I visited with Chloe again. After our second session I received this email:
Hi Donna,
Chloe was just laying on her back! She hasn't done that for a longtime! I think that's a good sign!
Follow up on Chloe:
Chloe continued to improve and is back to her normal walking schedule and best of all, she's rolling onto her back on a regular basis!
Bernese Mountain Dog
Donna has a heart of gold and we witnessed easy rapport with our Bernese Boys. We are very impressed with our 9-year old BMD's renewed mobility and are appreciative to Donna for help with non-invasive natural modalities including Bowen Therapy. We will continue to have some regular care to maintain our results! Based on our experience, we would recommend Donna for care of your pet.
Volunteer Work
Dear Donna,
On behalf of Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, thank you for supporting Oakville’s Purina® Walk for Dog Guides on May 29th. This event was very successful and raised $52,000, which will aid in funding our mission of providing Dog Guides at no cost to Canadians with medical and physical disabilities.
They say it takes a village to raise a child: that when the resources, talents and abilities of many are directed toward the same goal, a collective positive impact results. The same can be said for the work that goes into providing and matching a Dog Guide to someone in need. Lions Foundation could not possibly fulfill this mission without the generosity and support of a caring community.
Thank you for being part of this by providing animal massages.
I hope that you did well.
Yours sincerely,
Anastasia Jorge
Fundraising CoordinatorLions Foundation of Canada/Dog Guides Canada
Weimaraner with tumor in thoracic area
I have a background in Canine Massage. I had been working with a 9 year old female Weimaraner, Zoe, who has a tumor in the thoracic area. At the time I was under the guidance of my Canine Massage Instructor. Together we were seeing that Zoe was getting some relief.
However!
Once I started Bowen Therapy, amazing changes were noted!
That's not to say massage didn't have its place, but we saw noted improvement after applying specific Bowen moves.
Her breathing improved.
Her coat became softer and her body temperature warmed up immensely.
I can honestly say the most wonderful part about this is to see Zoe excited about her walks, her anticipation for whats to come,
The families goal was to improve Zoe's quality of life and I am so grateful they allowed me to be a part it.
German Shepherd with Degenerative Myelopathy
I want to thank Donna Woodstock of Pawsitive Healing for giving Tucker his life back. Tucker was diagnosed with nerve damage in one of his hind legs, and within a week he could no longer get up by himself. A week later he could no longer walk on his own. My wife and I were devastated.
Tucker was a 125lb German Shepherd. You just can't pick up a dog of that size and take him outside to do his business. He was only 8 1/2 years old and still very much engaged with us. We had no idea of what we were going to do.
Our first step was to get Tucker a wheelchair. We knew this would help get him outside to do his business, but we weren't sure of the quality of life he would have.
I had posted our situation on social media and Donna offered her services. She started a program for Tucker, and within two weeks Tucker could get up on his own. Each week he progressed until he was at the point he could walk to his water dish or go outside on his own.
Unfortunately, the nerve damaged moved to his front limbs, and it was time to say goodbye. Tucker had almost two years of quality life and walked until the day we had to send him for his walk on the rainbow bridge.
If not for Donna we would have had to say goodbye to Tucker a long time ago.
Thank you from the Butler family. You will always be in our hearts.