Oogy_ The Dog Only a Family Could Love - Larry Levin [53]
There wasn’t. The second visit was my last. I knew I would have to try something else. Even if there was a therapeutic benefit to this experience from a physical standpoint, the emotional reaction it was causing Oogy would cancel it out, and he had already had enough of being afraid in his life. I could not allow myself to cause him any more fear. I remembered the promise I had made. I would just have to find another option.
So I went back to Dr. Bianco, who recommended a recently opened facility nearby that provided grooming services as well as physiotherapy for small animals. I made an appointment and drove over there. My first impression was that it was a rather tony little spa catering to wealthy Main Line pet owners. But, as with so many things in life, only part of that picture was accurate.
The facility certainly was, in part, a tony little spa catering to wealthy Main Line pet owners. It was also a superior rehabilitative facility. A vet who specialized in pet rehabilitative medicine assessed Oogy’s needs at the time of his initial visit. She prescribed a series of treatments involving electronic stimulation of his atrophied muscle as well as hydrotherapy. The woman who administered these treatments had a specialized degree in pet physiotherapy. But actually giving Oogy the hydrotherapy treatments presented a problem. The hydrotherapy is administered in a clear Lucite box, open at the top, with a treadmill as the box’s floor. Warm water is gradually introduced while the treadmill turns at an incrementally increasing speed, so that the dog is eventually trotting with resistance that, over time, will build up the muscle without stressing it. Oogy, however, panicked when he was shut into the box, even a clear one without a top.
After I explained what underlay this response, the therapist started very gradually to increase Oogy’s time in the box with each visit (without charging us for it). As soon as Oogy started to become afraid, she stopped the procedure, no matter what stage it was in, and let him out. She also quickly hit on the creative solution of putting another dog in the box with him. Since all the women who worked there had at least one dog — the therapist herself had two ridgebacks that, big as he is, Oogy could practically walk under — and all the dogs knew him, finding a companion dog was never a problem. After six visits, Oogy was able to embark stress-free on his course of therapy. The mass and tone of his leg returned, as did its resiliency.
More than results matter in relationships with animals. How you get to where you need to go is critically important. The calm, loving approach exhibited by the staff at the rehab facility gave me a sense of confidence in the healing process. Oogy responded profoundly to the latter. And if I was late in picking him up, or a prior session was running late when we arrived, Oogy was used as a greeter to make other dogs feel welcomed. Here, as at AAH, the staff put the welfare of the animals in their care above any other consideration.
One afternoon as we were leaving after Oogy’s session, the owner of a local rescue service was bringing in a dog. As it turned out, the spa also donated its services for dogs from his rescue and cleaned them up before they went to their new homes.
As soon as he saw Oogy, he asked, “Is that a Dogo?”
“Well done,” I said. “You’re like the fourth person I’ve met who recognized the breed.”
“What happened to him?”
“He was a bait dog,” I explained.
“God bless you,” he said.
“You know, I think that is the first time in my life anyone has ever said that to me without my having to sneeze first,” I replied.
Right after Oogy’s operation, the surgeon had cautioned me that it is essentially inevitable that once a dog tears