VetStem Therapy for Dogs: Back to Playing Fetch–Stuart’s Story

VetStem regenerative therapy gives Stuart his life back.

What do Labrador Retrievers enjoy the most? Retrieving, of course. Which, in modern days, translates to playing fetch.

VetStem Therapy for Dogs: Back to Playing Fetch--Stuart's Story

JD loved fetching and would keep at it as long as anybody was throwing things. Neither Jasmine or Cookie had been very keen on playing fetch. Jasmine enjoyed hiking and exploring and Cookie only likes to chase things that keep running until they’re caught. She is an avid hunter. I’m kind of glad because I feel that the abrupt stops are hard on the body and Cookie has enough anatomical challenges. On the other hand, a dog ought to be able to enjoy their life and do what they love doing.

Like JD, Stuart would fetch until he’d drop which is not at all surprising for a Labrador Retriever. After spending the first eight years of his life getting everybody with thumbs to throw things for him to fetch and doing fine with it, suddenly Stuart began limping.

Stuart was in pain and could no longer enjoy his favorite activity.

Veterinary examination and x-rays revealed that Stuart had soft tissue injuries both in his wrist and shoulder.

Some soft tissue injuries can be challenging to treat. Conventional therapies weren’t helping.

Stuart’s veterinarian recommended stem cell therapy.

I am a big fan of regenerative therapies; both Jasmine and Cookie got to enjoy the benefits of this modality.

After some research and deliberation, Stuart’s parents decided to give stem cell therapy a go.

First, some fat tissue was collected from Stuart’s abdomen and processed at VetStem’s lab.

“VetStem lab technicians processed the fat to concentrate and extract the stem cells and created injectable doses of Stuart’s own stem and regenerative cells.”

The processed cells were shipped back to Stuart’s veterinarian. Forty-eight hours after the fat collection, Stuart was ready to receive his treatment. This was the same with Jasmine. I do find this bit rather cumbersome, and there are units veterinarians can purchase to process the collected tissue right in their clinic. Everything is a give and take proposition, though–each of these approaches has its pros and cons. It’s important to learn about the benefits of each of these scenarios. As for the treatment itself, however, I think it’s fantastic.

Stuart received injections of his own regenerative cells into his shoulder and wrist and an IV dose.

The benefit of direct injection is getting the treatment exactly where you believe it should go. The upside of the IV injection is the body will direct the cells to where the body believes they should go. Which may or may not be the same place depending on what else might be going on without anybody knowing.

A week after his treatment, Stuart was like a new dog.

The biggest challenge was keeping him calm enough so he could finish healing. After the doctor-ordered rest period, Stuart was able to return to his favorite game of fetch.

It’s been a year after his treatment and Stuart is doing great. Both Stuart and his parents are happy they decided to give regenerative therapy a chance.

I think regenerative therapy and cell therapies are the future of veterinary medicine. We too had fantastic results.

Related articles:
Digging Deeper: The Science Behind Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Therapy

Original story:
Labrador Retriever Gets Back to Playing Fetch After Receiving VetStem Regenerative Stem Cell Therapy

Categories: Alternative treatments • Conditions • Regenerative veterinary medicine • stem cell therapy

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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