Stem Cell Treatment for Dogs

Last night our local news aired a story about an old dog that was being treated with his own stem cells to counter his hip problems. After a week of treatment, the dog was moving great. One drawback was that his whole rear end was shaved. He might have gotten away with it if he were a poodle. Carol gave me a look like ‘we could do that for Champ.’ There was no mention in the story of what the cost for this treatment might be. The vet said that they removed stem cells from the dog, overnighted them to California for processing, and then overnighted them back for injecting into the dog. Cha-ching! I explained to Carol that there was a way less expensive shot that we could give to Champ and he wouldn’t be in pain anymore. She didn’t think that was a good solution. Champ is 13, and has slowed down in his old age. I take him for a walk each night, just past the corner and back. It takes about 30 minutes. I don’t think that he’s in any pain, just slowed down a bit. He also has trouble going up the steps. Maybe I should invent a doggie-walker, or doggie-wheelchair. He might like me to build him a ramp too. On second thought, I still think the ‘shot’ would be cheaper.