August

Spice is a sweet girl who was used as a study dog for veterinary research for the first part of her life. Because she had never been outside of her area at the university where she was kept, she never developed muscle strength in her rear end. After she was adopted into her wonderful home, her people knew that they had to help her learn to use her body and develop strength in her muscles. They brought Spice to SplashDog, where she learned to swim, and is blossoming each week and gaining the strength that she needs to use each day in her home and in the real world.

September

Buddy was rescued from the streets by his guardian who worked at a construction site. He saw this beautiful dog limping and hiding for months before he was able to gain his trust. Buddy’s new family got him the medical attention he needed, a knee surgery, brought him to SplashDog for therapy and watched him improve physically and emotionally.

October

Chica came to SplashDog after undergoing knee surgery. Our caring and knowledgeable therapists guided her through her recovery with her swim sessions and warm water massage. She did great and now enjoys self swims in our pool to keep her knees healthy and strong.

November

Elco is a Sheriff’s K9 officer who had a stroke in his spinal cord. His human partner and his department understood the importance of using warm water therapy and other modalities in an attempt to bring Elco back to function and return him to full duty. A number of months later, to our delight, Elco returned to work with his partner. The last we heard, he had just had his first capture and was doing very well back at work. We couldn’t be prouder to be a part of the team that brought these guys back to work protecting our public.

December

Popcorn, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, is an older gentleman who has had two spinal surgeries. He came to SplashDog with weak hind quarters and was unable to walk straight. Swim therapy has helped to ease some of his scar tissue build-up and facilitate ease of movement. He is much stronger now, and walking straighter. He announces his arrival with great glee when he walks in our door and plays his heart out!

Popcorn, being a very curious and enthusiastic canine who has limited vision, has had to start wearing Doggles® while on his daily walks. This is to protect his eyes from injuries caused by “inspecting” plants and bushes too closely. This simple modification for his eyes, and other simple modifications for his leash walking have helped him function even better this year than last.