Every dog has his day and for 10-month old Border Collie Larry it was the day he was adopted by 99副利视频Master of Animal Studies (Physiotherapy) student Lesley Harrison.
But three months earlier, as an RSPCA cruelty case, it seemed as if Larry鈥檚 days were numbered.
Larry had been almost starved to death and when rescued by the RSPCA weighed just over three kilos.
He was nursed back to health by Fairfield Refuge veterinary staff Dr Anne Chester and Dr Anne Coville until his condition stabilised and his weight reached 12 kilos.
Then it was discovered that Larry had hip displasia, a hereditary disease in dogs, and needed an operation.
Lecturer in Surgery at UQ鈥檚 Sue Sommerlad performed the femoral head osteotomy operation and Larry went into Ms Harrison鈥檚 care for postoperative physiotherapy.
Ms Harrison is undertaking postgraduate studies in animal physiotherapy at , one of only two Masters programs in this field in the world.
The program provides qualified human physiotherapists with training to transfer their skills to animals, particularly performance and companion animals such as dogs and horses, to meet a growing international demand,
Ms Harrison is studying the rehabilitation of dogs after femoral head excision surgery, and is seeing clinical cases at UQ鈥檚 Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
鈥淭he project is studying whether postoperative physiotherapy techniques, which have proved successful on humans, are useful for animals as an adjunct to veterinary medicine,鈥� Ms Harrison said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 early days yet, but the signs are very encouraging. After eight weeks there have been significant changes to Larry鈥檚 gait and an increase in his muscle bulk, evidence that an established exercise regime is beneficial.鈥�
Larry鈥檚 muscle-building regime involves an on-leash one kilometre walk each day and selected off-the-leash activities. He also walks up and down hills, slopes and stairs and walks regularly on sand. Future therapy will include swimming.
Ms Harrison said Larry鈥檚 rehabilitation would take another six months before his muscles were strong enough to withstand a second operation on his other hip.
Media: For further information contact Lynda Flower at 99副利视频Communications (telephone 07 3365 2339, email l.flower@uq.edu.au).
