Lookin' good

Today we took Riley to Paws in Motion, a veterinary rehabilitation center in Natick. We met Suzanne Starr, the owner. The visit lasted an hour and consisted of a quick background interview, an exam, and then recommended exercises. We were very pleased to hear that Riley is recovering far better than most 4 week post TPLO patients she has seen- and Riley is still 2 days shy of 4 weeks! That was great news. She felt he was doing quite well and we wouldn't even need to bring him back to do any walking on the underwater treadmill, range-of-motion exercises (ROM), or anything like that. She showed me how to do some weight transfer exercises and suggestions on helping him rebuild all the muscle he has lost. She suggested walking up a small hill, doing figure 8's, sit-down stand-up exercises, and helping him shift his weight from his good hind leg to the weaker one. She was very nice and Riley really liked her. Sabrina even got to come in near the end and grace everyone with her crazy face licking. They were very amuzed by Sabrina's silly play antics (pulling on Riley's leash, looking at herself in the mirror, etc). The visit only cost $85, which I thought was very reasonable. We were recommended to return in 2 weeks for a check-up. I haven't decided yet if I think it is necessary. We'll see.
I'm really excited about starting a new exercise program for Riley. As of yesterday, we were up to two, 10-15 minutes walks a day. I'd really like to get him up to 30 minute walks in the next two weeks. Perhaps tomorrow we will try a 20 minute walk. This is such good news!