Human-Vet Medicine

There has been lot of debate about health care for dogs lately, partially stemming from the recent article in the New York Times that delineates the state of the art treatment that many pets are getting these days.

And while expense seems to be the last things on the minds of those pet owners who get their dogs stem cell transplants or stents, I think many people are forgetting that many of the medical techniques that humans take for granted in their care, actually began in dogs. This is predominantly true in cancer treatment where the field of comparative oncology, recently made a division of NIH, has been pushing the boundaries on all kinds of cancer treatments for humans that start in pets, but also in orthopedics, where race horse have been receiving stem cell transplants for athletic injuries that have been remarkably successful.

And it is not always the New Bolton Center vets who are doing the break through treatments. As many of you know, Amos suffered an aggravation to his elbow arthritis over last weekend due to a run in with an aggressive dog in the park. He came up limping and after it was determined that nothing was broken, my vet started a treatment that included increased pain and anti-inflammatory meds, acupuncture and the use of a Class 4 laser. Amazingly Amos was walking perfectly after two laser treatments. After one, he was putting weight on all four paws, something he was not doing when we arrived for the first treatment.

That Class 4 laser is something I wish I had for my back but you try to find a doctor who has one. They are few and far between on the human side of things even though they have been proven to work in dogs and horses.

So don't poo-poo those dog medical procedures because in many ways they are getting better care than we are and that may in fact have to do with the fact that we are actually paying actual fees for service (or at least our insurance companies are).

There are a lot of times when I wish my vet would treat me.