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