HELPING PETS HEAL
Physical therapy at Vetavision
When Kira Penney was a veterinary student at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, her rambunctious Irish setter ran into her with so much force that she needed knee surgery.
Both before and after the surgery, she did physiotherapy so her recovery would be faster.
“It got me thinking: Why aren’t we doing stuff like this for dogs?” Penney said.
Animal rehabilitation did exist, but few people were certified to do it. Penney became determined to swell their ranks and, after earning her veterinary degree, became certified in canine rehabilitation.
Penney, who began working with the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015, believes she is one of just three animal rehabilitation specialists in Saskatchewan.
Physiotherapists who work with people can also work with animals if they take courses and partner with a supervising veterinarian; Penney said she knows of one person doing this in the province.
With so few rehabilitation specialists, Penney is kept busy helping animals brought in from across Saskatchewan and she said demand for rehabilitation services is continuing to grow.
“People are starting to want comparable care for their pets that they get for themselves,” the vet said.
“Pets, I think, are becoming more part of the family versus being a pet and so I think people are starting to want to be able to provide their pets with a higher quality of care ... If you’ve just spent a couple thousand dollars on a knee surgery and rehab is going to make their recovery faster or better, then most people figure that that’s a good return on their investment to go ahead and do rehab after the surgery.”
Fortunately for pet owners, Penney said an increasing number of veterinary students are showing interest in being certified to do animal rehabilitation and there may soon be more specialists working in the province.
Penney has done rehabilitation work on dogs, cats, rabbits, pot belly pigs, parrots and exotic animals such as owls and geese.
Her workspace, in the basement of the veterinary college, resembles a physiotherapy office with balls, ramps and even an underwater treadmill.
Penney will show off that workspace today and Saturday during Vetavision — an open house that allows the public to come into the veterinary college and learn about work being done there.
Doors are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days.
WHAT’S ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT?
Among the smallest animals being featured at Vetavision are bees.
Esther Derksen, a second-year veterinary student, said she had never thought about veterinarians doing research on the insects when she applied for vet college.
Yet a new bee health elective being offered at the college is becoming increasingly popular.
“They need health care just like any other species,” Derksen said.
“They get diseases, they get sick, you have production problems and so a bee-keeper who’s trying to have a successful operation is increasingly going to need the advice of a veterinarian especially since, if they want to use any drugs like antibiotics for different sorts of diseases on their bees, they have to go to a veterinarian to get those antibiotics.”
Those who are bugged by bees need not worry; the hive Derksen has on display for Vetavision is empty to minimize the possibility of people getting stung. Derksen knows all about that. She’s been stung more times than she can recall.
“You get used to it,” she said. “You can’t work with them and not get stung.”