Not Exactly The Betty Ford Center

Reyna has been to physical therapy twice. I don’t know if she enjoys the therapy portion, but I know she likes the people and she certainly doesn’t seem to mind being fed chunks of venison. Monday, she managed two 10 minute sessions on the underwater treadmill. Today, she was able to go 12 minutes both times. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but considering her current physical condition, I’d say she’s doing pretty well.

Right now, the therapists are working on retraining Reyna’s gait. The way she’s had to compensate for the hip pain has caused her to completely change how she walks, and how she walks now is not good – it actually causes more problems. So, they’re using the underwater treadmill to force her to relearn the proper way to move. As she progresses with the treadmill, they’ll also change the volume of water and the speed of the treadmill to make her work harder. Once she’s gotten the hang of the new gait and has built up a bit of muscle in her hips, they’ll start using additional therapy methods. What’s interesting – although not surprising, really – is that the therapy does not make Reyna tired. Instead, it seems to wind her way, way up and make her very bouncy. Even after two sessions, she seems to be moving a little easier at home. Of course, that could also be due to the increased amount of pain killers. I guess we’ll just have to see how things progress.

The folks at VetHab are very nice. There’s one in particular that Reyna likes. I’m not sure if she just senses something really friendly about him, or if its because he’s the one that feeds her venison when she’s on the treadmill, but she was absolutely thrilled to see him this morning. Since I can’t be with her during her therapy, they very kindly agreed to take a few pictures and a bit of video of her in the underwater treadmill.

The container in the bottom of the picture is her broiled venison.



She doesn't look too happy here, but she's obviously not fighting them. I think its just the way she has her ears that makes her look upset.


The leash isn't actually pulling her along - they use it to walk her into the treadmill and to provide a bit of support and physical contact.


This is the video they took today. She's clearly handling the underwater treadmill with no problems. The guy feeding her and talking to her is the one she likes so much, and she's definitely interested in the venison.