Eight months ago, Alfie’s owners realised that he needed help.
He is a feisty terrier cross dachshund, and had just turned fourteen years old. But he was starting to slow down.
His owners had noticed that if he walked his usual forty minutes or more a day he would be stiff and sore the next day. He could still chase a ball, but they had to restrict the number of times they were throwing it, and had reduced his walks to just twenty minutes.
They had also recently started him on a natural joint supplement, but they wanted to know if there was more that could be done for him.
Our gentle vet, Ali, had plenty of ideas. She started by establishing a baseline for how bad things were, using a mobility score sheet.
This is a simple questionnaire that puts a score to a pet’s current mobility. Full mobility would score 35-40. Alfie’s score was only nineteen, just tipping from moderate into severe.
Ali had so many choices that she could have offered from acupuncture to physiotherapy, and from home massage and exercises to hydrotherapy. Every patient has different needs.
At that time we were unable to offer all these choices, due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic. However, I am glad to announce that our nurse clinicians are now available once again to perform their mobility clinics, and help pets like Alfie.
Alfie started on medication, and just four months later his mobility score had increased back to thirty! From a slow potter he was back to being keen to run about on his walks. His owners have been thrilled with the difference in him.
If you are noticing that your cat or dog are slowing down, or perhaps they are struggling to get up, you should arrange a mobility assessment with one of my caring team. Once a vet has checked them over, we can now offer our nurse clinician’s time free of charge to review how best to support them back to vitality.
Just call us on 01444 456886 and ask for more information on our free of charge Mobility Clinics.
