Mama eagerly anticipated her noon appointment on Saturday as we traveled the winding road of Del Dios Highway from Encinitas to the Acacia Animal Health Center in Escondido.After pulling my van into a parking space, I opened the sliding door and grabbed the leash which quickly became taut as Mama lunged and made a beeline to the entrance.
This was a girl on a mission!
When I opened the door to the reception area, she announced her arrival with a bark that was directed to a bull dog named Olive who was politely seated to the right and a boxer to the left.
Mama is beginning to show signs of an inflated self-image, fancying Drs. Bausone and Harrison as her "concierge physicians."
She received a dose of humility when Dr. Harrison appeared, then conspired with me in attempting to coax her on the scale.
No such luck.
After Dr. Harrison temporarily conceded defeat during round one of the weighing competition, Mama followed him gingerly into the examination room.
"This is NOT the same dog!" he remarked after a visual examination. This was the second week in a row he uttered these words.
Mama was pleased with his assessment, then surrendered control so that he could do what he does best: healing her using a treatment called veterinary orthopedic manipulation (VOM).
Dr. Harrison noted that her muscle tone was much better.
The spine was giving her some discomfort, probably from pulling on the leash.
He used a VetroStim along the vertebrae to stimulate the muscles and ganglia. Mama enjoys the treatment because it feels like a massage.
A Vibracussor was used on her body as well as her head (see photo) to drain congestion caused by allergies.
Then an Accelerometer(see photo)was used to stimulate her thyroid.
When treatment was completed, Mama was relaxed and more willing to mount the dreaded scale.
She had reason to be proud. Improvements in diet and exercise, and the addition of thyroid medication, translated into a weight loss from 100.6 on her previous visit to 100 lbs.
Although the road to achieving an ideal weight of 75 lbs. was probably going to be a slow one, she was on her way!
Anything worth doing (and this is worth doing!) is worth waiting for. She's such a champ and you are her partner! Can't wait to see what the months ahead bring!!! Woohoo for Mama!
ReplyDelete~Tony