I have seen hundreds of pets in their homes using laser therapy as a modality to treat pain. Some are (or at least became) happy to see me, a few not so much (AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, JIM.) But one event took place that has stuck with me and cemented my faith in laser therapy at a very early point in my mobile laser career.
The dog’s name was Caleb, a 12-year-old Border Collie who we were treating for arthritis in multiple joints. He was a wary little guy and paced back and forth down the hall of the entryway barking and looking at me suspiciously with all of my bags and the aura of Veterinary Enemy. Since there were several other pets in the house, we decided to move his bed into a small den area with a door so we could close them out while we did his treatment. His first session pretty much entailed him pacing the room and having to be frequently (and gently) reminded to lie down while we treated his joints.
The second session was pretty much the same, he again paced up and down the hallway barking; we again moved the bed into the den and his behavior during his therapy time was again, to put it lightly, actively noncompliant. His mom did note that he had used the front stairs (something he hadn’t done in a long while) and slept really well the night of the first treatment.
And then I arrived for treatment number three. Caleb’s update continued to be positive, his mom said he was using the front stairs with ease and just seemed “much happier.” I made some notes in his record and was feeling pretty good about this progress report but nothing matched the happiness (and surprise) I felt as we walked down the hallway and saw Caleb, very large dog bed in mouth, making his way toward the den. Needless to say his future treatments pretty much involved him relaxing through his sessions and a continued improvement in his activity level and quality of life. And I choose to believe his barked greetings these days are all welcoming rather than warning.
