Meet Lizzie, our November 2017 Pet of the Month. We first met Lizzie, a 7 year old, spayed female, Sheltie, in March 2017. She came to see us for rehabilitation options for forelimb lameness and elbow arthritis. After her initial exam, we found that Lizzie not only had DJD in her elbows but also both of her wrists joints and all of her toes. Her decreased activity at home resulted in diffuse muscle atrophy in her thighs, shoulders and paraspinal muscles. Additionally, Lizzie was carrying some extra weight, so weight loss was also a mutual goal for us and her family.
For Lizzie, we focused her rehabilitation program on strengthening her thigh, hip and core muscles through structured exercises. Lizzie also used the underwater treadmill to help kick start her metabolism and also exercise with low impact on her joints. Lizzie and her family worked very hard carefully monitoring her caloric intake and performing structured exercises at home.
Lizzie and her family’s hard work have been paying off! Lizzie has been feeling great and has managed to lose a total of 5.6 pounds since her initial visit. Lizzie started to enjoy walks again too! Her appointment frequency decreased at the office as she and her family were able to do more exercises at home. We are so proud of Lizzie’s hard work and are still continuing to see Lizzie to monitor her progress.