Owner testimonial - Debbie & Vespa

I am the owner of a chocolate labrador who is 3 years 6 months old. In April this year he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. This was very shocking as overnight he became lame and even had to be sedated due to the pain he was in. The vets gave him painkillers which helped, but because he is a lab and only three he kept re-injuring his hip making it impossible to manage. A specialist vet took a look at his x-ray’s and felt that he needed to be off the painkillers so he could assess how much pain he was in. He felt that a hip replacement was not an option at this moment in time.

Being a bouncy boy who loves to play and say ‘hello’ Vespa was not quite getting the idea of being calm. Our vet recommended Linhay for some rehabilitation and we agreed for him to go. On our first visit he had an assessment and an acupuncture treatment from vet Kate. The assessment was very good with a video taken to make reference to his first visit and how he is walking. I was so shocked that he loved the acupuncture and fell asleep while having it done; I had not seen him so relaxed in months. On our next visit he had hydrotherapy on a water- treadmill, this was to encourage him to walk better and build up his muscles in his hind legs. He has treatment twice a week, and so far has improved loads becoming so much stronger in just 4 weeks.

I believe that this is the best treatment as he was such an unhappy boy but now is getting a new lease of life. He also does not react well to medication so for him it has been a much more comfortable program. The staff are great and I would recommend Linhay to anyone with a pet that needs rehabilitation. Helen (the physio) also gave me an exercise plan for Vespa at home which has helped me as I had no idea about managing hip dysplasia.

Before Linhay I was worried that our beloved pooch was in pain and wondered whether he would be a happy pooch ever again. Now I have a much more positive outlook and feel reassured as an owner, we can only thank Linhay for this. So a big thank you to all the Linhay staff from Vespa and Debbie.