# Gargamel's Laser Treatment



## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

I have these on facebook sorry to those who already saw them.

Gargamel woke up this summer unable to walk on his back paw. After thousands of dollars and tests and Xrays and CT scans and stress, It was determined he had got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever which compromised his immune system. He must have stumbled or twisted his paw and since his immune system was compromised fighting off the RMSF when he tripped outside he was left with Degenerative Arthritis in his paw. He just turned 5 and finding out he would be on meds and have a limp for the rest of his life wasn't acceptable for me. He is still not able to be worked or walked long distances. I cant cut back on his food and he has gained some weight being unable to exercise so I know that's not helping either.

Here is his CTscan (well a screen shot of it) I love his cute little tail bones 









you can really see the muscle deterioration in this one of his thigh muscles. So much smaller and this was only after 2 months of not walking









here is it in a real pics. So funny his hair swirls used to be the same height til he lost his muscle  lol








stupid pic is correct in photobucket not sure why its sideways on here.









I opted for the Laser therapy over Aqua therapy because it should have faster results. I hope Mel is pain, medicine and limp free by the end of his 6 sessions. Fingers crossed.

Here is is all sweet and innocent not having a clue to what was going on ready to begin our first session.









then came the doggles and he promptly hid under me and my chair. lol









I think crooked doggles makes them even cuter lol









Like a boss









They basically put the laser on 6 points around his joint for about 30-45 seconds each. Since no every vet offers this, I have to drive an hour each way and by the time this is over I would have driven 12 hours for 18 minutes of treatment. Oh well. lol THIS BETTER WORK!!!!









he didn't stop looking at me the whole time Poor guy probably offically thinks I am on crack. lol









and he knows when is as a good boy he gets stuff from the pouch. as soon as the doggles came off he reminded me









thanks for looking


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## Just Tap Pits (Mar 4, 2013)

Poor guy.... hope he gets better soon. I know it's weighing on you heavily.


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## ~StangChick~ (Jan 1, 2009)

aww get better soon buddy..hugs.


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## HeavyJeep (May 7, 2011)

Oh my Ames.. That's terrible to have going on, for you both.. 
I'm so sorry 

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## Carriana (May 13, 2008)

I just love the doggles. Did he get to keep them?


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## jttar (Jan 31, 2013)

Really sorry to hear about your boy. Thank you Ames for the pictures and the explanation of the process. What does the laser actually do to help heal the injury to his paw?

I am not one bit suprised by the amount of money or time you invest into G's health. Others here would "cull" the dog before spending thousands of dollars on it. 
You are good people Ames.

Joe


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Just Tap Pits said:


> Poor guy.... hope he gets better soon. I know it's weighing on you heavily.


Thank you man. fingers crossed



~StangChick~ said:


> aww get better soon buddy..hugs.


Thanks girl!



HeavyJeep said:


> Oh my Ames.. That's terrible to have going on, for you both..
> I'm so sorry
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


thank you! It really is I wish he could talk to let me know if its getting better! lol I know people go through a lot worse with their pets so on the grande scale we are very lucky.



Carriana said:


> I just love the doggles. Did he get to keep them?


no  but I may pick him up a pair for the beach this summer. Or when he rides bitch on my vespa. hahaha



jttar said:


> Really sorry to hear about your boy. Thank you Ames for the pictures and the explanation of the process. What does the laser actually do to help heal the injury to his paw?
> 
> I am not one bit suprised by the amount of money or time you invest into G's health. Others here would "cull" the dog before spending thousands of dollars on it.
> You are good people Ames.
> ...


Thank you Joe. I couldn't imagine people that cull to avoid caring for their animals. I would go broke (and kinda have) trying to help him if I can. Shoot I need a cap on my tooth but saved for his treatment first lol. Oh well.

I think this article helps explain it best 
Laser therapy shows promise in treating soft tissue injuries, arthritis in pets

_Therapy laser treatments use a high powered laser to direct electromagnetic energy into cells in a non-invasive way. This helps promote healing, reduces inflammation and reduces pain without drugs and with quick results.

There are many disease that can benefit from therapy laser. Almost any painful or inflammatory condition can be treated to some degree. Some of the common condition we treat in our veterinary patients are wounds, infections, hot spots, lick granulomas, cystitis, disc disease, joint disease, arthritis, hip dysplasia, sinusitis, periodontal disease, gingivitis, and surgical incisions._

A HUGE thanks to all of you who have been with me through all my stressing. I know its not super serious, but having you all there for me to complain and cry on your shoulders has been amazing help and peace of mind knowing you all care about Mel's health just like I do.


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## ::::COACH:::: (Apr 4, 2012)

Oh mushy Mel, if I every see a dog that looks like him I'm getting it. LOL! Yes, I am going by looks alone here  haha! 

Did he try to take the goggles off at all? I think both if my dogs would have been trying to rip them off...

I hope this works for him!


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

::::COACH:::: said:


> Oh mushy Mel, if I every see a dog that looks like him I'm getting it. LOL! Yes, I am going by looks alone here  haha!
> 
> Did he try to take the goggles off at all? I think both if my dogs would have been trying to rip them off...
> 
> I hope this works for him!


Hahaha I love look alike Mel's too! Lol Thank you so much!! He did try to take them off but I told him no and he was a good boy and only tried one more time. They go around the top behind his ears and under his chin. Those bitches were staying put lol

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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Made a short video of today's session. There was a new tech and she said she read in the file Mel was an ideal patient and so good and very easy. I was glad to hear it. Very proud 





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## EckoMac (Aug 25, 2010)

Ecko had his ear done once. Before I switched him to raw he had chronic ear infections. The Dr. thought he had ruptured and ear drum but couldn't see from all the swelling. It helped a lot. I hope it works for Mel too. 
I love that he sits sooooo still and just pouts about it to you. LOL!


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

EckoMac said:


> Ecko had his ear done once. Before I switched him to raw he had chronic ear infections. The Dr. thought he had ruptured and ear drum but couldn't see from all the swelling. It helped a lot. I hope it works for Mel too.
> I love that he sits sooooo still and just pouts about it to you. LOL!


thank you girl!! I hope so too. And he is my good boy. Love how he looks to me as well


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## jttar (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you for the tutoring on the treatment Ames. It makes a lot of sense and I hope that your big guy Mel heals quickly and completely. Watched the video clip. I sure hope he wasn't whining because he was feeling the treatment. My boy Titus whines all the time. never know if he has to go out, there is a dog on TV or someone or something is walking past the house. LOL.

Joe


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## Katey (Aug 5, 2013)

So glad the session went well Ames.


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Poor guy. Sending love and prayers and we hope he has a speedy recovery.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

jttar said:


> Thank you for the tutoring on the treatment Ames. It makes a lot of sense and I hope that your big guy Mel heals quickly and completely. Watched the video clip. I sure hope he wasn't whining because he was feeling the treatment. My boy Titus whines all the time. never know if he has to go out, there is a dog on TV or someone or something is walking past the house. LOL.
> 
> Joe


hahaha SO TRUE! His Diva move for sure! Thanks for reading!



Katey said:


> So glad the session went well Ames.


Thank you Katey!!



Black Rabbit said:


> Poor guy. Sending love and prayers and we hope he has a speedy recovery.


 Its much appreciated!


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## DickyT (Jan 29, 2014)

As a human sufferer of degenerative hip arthritis I can empathize with what Mel is going through. Mine has other acute trauma issues that make it untreatable, I'll just need to get a new one along with a knee some day.

The Doggles are too darn cute, he sports them well!

I wish him the best on his road to recovery, I am happy to read sessions are going well and that the tech thinks he is an ideal candidate!


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Thank you DickyT, are you able to try alternative methods to try and elevate your pain? or they tell you you need a new knee and that's that?

I just wanted to update now that we are done with our sessions. His right paw after the third appointment I stopped the arthritis/anti-inflammatory/pain meds. He did wonderfully. I was looking at that right paw with a microscope lol. I posted up a video to a friend of him on the treadmill saying do you see him not limping on the right paw anymore. dare I say its working!?? and she said right paw looks great, whats wrong with the left. UGHHH lol So he got a compensating knee injury on his left leg for walking on it alone for so many months when he couldn't walk on his right paw. They doctors want to do xrays and blah blah blah all over for his left knee. 

The last 3 laser appointments we had the laser on the right paw and the left knee. Figured it wouldn't hurt to try and stimulate the blood flow and get that healing. Mel is still on his pain meds and we are doing slower and steady PT with the treadmill and hopefully as the right paw gets stronger the left knee will miraculously heal, lol. Or we go back to the vet lol


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## Saint Francis (Jun 2, 2010)

My thoughts will be with Mel...and you. I know, from how much you care about Mel, that he will be in constant good hands. It's tough, real tough, not only watching your best friend in difficult times...but feeling helpless in your efforts to get him relief. Chin up Mel and Ames!!!!
BTW, I might have missed the whole Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever situation. How did Mel get it? Tick? another parasite? Crazy bad luck I suppose. Don't worry, Mel will be OK.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Saint Francis said:


> My thoughts will be with Mel...and you. I know, from how much you care about Mel, that he will be in constant good hands. It's tough, real tough, not only watching your best friend in difficult times...but feeling helpless in your efforts to get him relief. Chin up Mel and Ames!!!!
> BTW, I might have missed the whole Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever situation. How did Mel get it? Tick? another parasite? Crazy bad luck I suppose. Don't worry, Mel will be OK.


thank you very much for the kind words, we both appreciate it.  Yup, stupid tick! I pulled a tiny one off him the beginning of August, so we are assuming of course that it was the cause, it is a tick disease. That was a rough few months of not knowing what is happening and tossing dollar after dollar into trying to find out what was wrong. It was caught quick, so the tests had a hard time pin pointing it. It was discovered when he woke up one morning unable to walk on his back right paw, for the next three months... Month 2 they were finally able to start treating it and he was putting small bits of weight back in it in month 4. Laser treatments started in month 5 and now we are in month 6. UGH it SUCKED!!!


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## Just Tap Pits (Mar 4, 2013)

Im sorry ames..... lucky mel has u.. lots of folks wouldve just gave up on him... hell be back to his ol onry(sp) self in no time...


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## Saint Francis (Jun 2, 2010)

ames said:


> thank you very much for the kind words, we both appreciate it.  Yup, stupid tick! I pulled a tiny one off him the beginning of August, so we are assuming of course that it was the cause, it is a tick disease. That was a rough few months of not knowing what is happening and tossing dollar after dollar into trying to find out what was wrong. It was caught quick, so the tests had a hard time pin pointing it. It was discovered when he woke up one morning unable to walk on his back right paw, for the next three months... Month 2 they were finally able to start treating it and he was putting small bits of weight back in it in month 4. Laser treatments started in month 5 and now we are in month 6. UGH it SUCKED!!!


Damn Ames. Good find on your part though, big time. If he was an "outside" dog....who knows what would have happened. Sounds like you had to circle the wagon a few times, but now know what you are treating....and that's good. Give that trooper (Mel) a squeeze from me


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## DickyT (Jan 29, 2014)

Glad Mel is doing better! As far as I go.. Yeah I'll just need a new knee and hip someday...

I deal with it for now, and until one of the joints puts me in a chair, I'm not having another surgery... Been put under and cut open enough in my life... 5 times so far...


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## Kain (Apr 21, 2013)

Does he do hydro therapy?


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

will do Francis! and damn DickyT sucks to live in pain all the time and all docter seem to do is want to cut you open or give you more meds. I hope you are able to get passed the pain. I am a imp and pain bothers me and I am such a bitch!

Kain, I was looking into Hydro therapy but the place I went to didn't offer it. I found another place and just need to save for the $200 pre therapy appointment. UGH If I had know I would have gone to them originally since they have hydro and laser. but live and learn.


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## Jazzy&Veronica (Mar 18, 2011)

I'm glad Mel is coming along. I can imagine how freaked you were all those months not knowing what was wrong!!

Mel is lucky to have you!!


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## verdugo (Dec 30, 2013)

Keep that spirit and positivism up! You both will come through. Do you have a PayPal account where we could help with mel recovery. If we all give al little something im pretty sure it can become substantial and helpful for a good cause. Pls let us know if that something we all can do as brothers in paws.

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