Tango Sperry

Meet Tango! Tango is a gentle giant. He is a sweet, 100 lb Mastiff. A week before Tango’s 1st birthday, he found a stick on the ground and started playing with it. There was snow on the ground.  He threw the stick in the air and when he jumped to catch it, he twisted and his back folded in half. As a result, he suffered a fibrocartilaginous embolism (similar to a stroke in humans).

It looked as if he would be paralyzed for life.  His owners went to many different vets. A neurologist in Red Bank suggested they try aqua therapy and canine rehabilitation. He felt that Tango was still young and, at a minimum, he could learn to use his front end.

Tango came to us and started therapy twice a week for a while and he started to walk again. He continued to come weekly for maintenance. He walked really well for years but every once in awhile he would have a stroke and after every stroke he got weaker. Tango continued therapy and maintained his ability to walk without assistance for many years. He continues to come to us for aqua therapy once a week to keep his front end strong and to continue using all the muscles in his hind end so that he can maintain his strength. Even though he is older, he is doing great with his weekly aqua therapy!!

Milo

Meet Milo! He is an incredibly sweet, 10-month old Labradoodle.

In August of 2018, he suffered a Fibrocartilagenous Embolism (“FCE”).  It’s the doggy version of a stroke.  As a result, he lost strength, balance, and proprioception (sense/awareness) in his hind legs.

Take a look at the first video to see how wobbly he was. Milo has been coming to Petra’s Dog Resource Center for aqua therapy, balance exercises, core strengthening exercises, manual therapy, and cold laser.  His family diligently works on his home exercise program. Milo is making great strides in therapy. View the videos below on how well he did after only 8 weeks of physical therapy.

Zima

Meet Zima! She came all the way from Massachusetts to stay with us for rest and rehab after experiencing an FCE (spinal stroke) which caused almost complete loss of function in her left hind leg. After almost a month of intensive rehab, she regained a significant amount of use in that leg and she was at the point where her family felt comfortable taking her home. She will be continuing rehab with a facility close to her home in MA. We wish you the best of luck, Zima!!

Diamond

Meet Diamond! He is a 3 year old Rottweiler that suffered from TWO FCE’s. An FCE is a spinal cord stroke. Typically dogs with an FCE become paralyzed in one or two hind legs. Diamond suffered two separate stokes leaving his hind legs weak and his left front paralyzed. He came into our facility unable to walk without complete support from two people. He stayed with us in Rest and Rehab for four weeks to maximize his rehabilitation potential. After weeks of therapy he was able to stand and walk on his own! We were so excited to see his progress!! Diamond was able to go home to his prior life and family.

Dizzy

Meet Dizzy! Dizzy is a happy, active 13-year-old Bichon Frise Mix that came to us after undergoing IVDD surgery. He only had slight movement in his hind legs 10 days after surgery. He received therapy daily including therapeutic exercises, cold laser therapy, tank sessions, assisted walking, and massage. After his month-long stay, he was able to walk with a little assistance. We loved having him here and were happy he got to go home but sad that we no longer were able to see his happy face every morning.

I’m so proud of EVERY SINGLE staff member that worked so hard to rehab Dizzy so he could walk when he got home! I’m incredibly lucky to have such great employees!