Canine Rehab Pool Opens

Sam the Yorkshire terrier was days away from euthanasia.

A year ago, Sam ruptured a disc in his neck while chasing squirrels, and had emergency surgery to relieve the condition.

Despite that, for the next six months the eight-pound dog was in so much pain, he couldn’t lift up his head. Sam was on 10 different medications. His owner, Alpharetta resident Jenny Lidbeck, tearfully remembered making the decision when Sam’s vet said, “There’s one thing left to try.”

Enter Dr. Evelyn Orenbuch, DVM, CAVCA, CCRT, a specialist in veterinary fitness, rehabilitation, and pain management. “She came to our house and said, ‘This dog is in pain all over.’" Dr. Orenbuch prescribed a combination of treatments to relieve Sam’s pain and restore him to health. 

Six months after that house call, Sam was one of the first patients last week to visit Dr. Orenbuch at her new East Cobb office at 1230 Johnson Ferry Road. Clearly better, Sam sniffed his way through the new digs before settling in for a monthly check-up. 

The cover is off Georgia’s first veterinary rehabilitation pool, an “ahhh” moment for animals that are injured, aged, or post-op patients.

The new center, Georgia Veterinary Rehabilitation, Fitness & Pain Management, employs both modern Western and ancient Eastern therapies to treat a range of illnesses in companion animals.

Dr. Orenbuch and her staff are still settling in at the practice, which includes the state-of-the-art, four-foot deep resistance pool, a wet/dry treadmill, cold laser and Chinese herbal therapies, chiropractic, massage, a canine gym for gait analysis and exercise, and day boarding for patients that might need multiple treatments during the day. A small retail area features products the veterinarian feels comfortable recommending, such as Omega 3 supplements to promote skin and joint health.

Her clients include geriatric patients, household pets, and high performance canine athletes, Dr. Orenbuch said. Her modalities are as low-tech as a tape measure and protractor to determine an animal’s joint extension, to the high technology of the cold laser, which is similar to ultrasound therapy in human physical therapy. The laser “has the same effect of decreasing pain and increasing healing,” she said.

A 1994 graduate of The Ohio State University vet school, Dr. Orenbuch has focused on the rehabilitation of large and small animals since 2003. Certified in canine rehabilitation and veterinary chiropractic, she also studied veterinary acupuncture.

She takes referrals from area vets, but also will accept patients without a referral. Her three main groups of clients include older, arthritic dogs, post-operative patients like a dog recovering from a knee ACL tear, and sports medicine and maintenance for competition dogs.

For the athletes, Dr. Orenbuch works with owners to keep the dogs in shape. “I always ask, ‘what exercises do you do’ prior to strenuous activity,” she said. “These athletes need to be conditioned just like human athletes.” The post-operative patients ideally are referred immediately to begin rehabilitation. “I’d love to see these dogs three days after surgery,” she said, when the team will begin a program of stretching, massage, and strength training. Once a dog’s sutures or staples are removed, she’ll put the animal in the pool or on the underwater treadmill as part of the the rehab.

Weight management is an integral component of animal wellness, the vet said. “I always talk to my clients about nutrition. I’d don’t care what the [weight scale] numbers are; I care whether or not the dog has a layer of fat. When dogs are overweight, the more fat they carry, the more inflammatory factors that float around in the dog’s body,” she said.

Her senior patients, the most elderly animals, have typical end-of-life health issues like pain, but they don’t have to suffer. Use of non-traditional veterinary medicine won’t stop the aging, “but we sure can improve the quality of life,” Dr. Orenbuch said.

With all the high-tech and ancient treatment modalities at her disposal, it’s clear watching Dr. Orenbuch at work that her most valuable diagnostic tools are her hands and her ears. She gently stretches and massages little Sam, and feels for tender or sore muscles. She listens intently to Lidbeck, who describes the Yorkie’s activities and his medication and supplement list.

“It’s very important to listen to my pet owners,” the vet said. “They see the little things every day, a hitch in the dog’s gait, or a reluctance to jump on the sofa.”

Sammy gets his chiropractic adjustments from Dr. Orenbuch, followed by a cold laser treatment on the obviously tender areas. “Sam always lets us know where he’s sore. We adjust him, and he wiggles around, and we know he feels better,” she said. 

An open house for current and prospective clients is slated for Thursday, March 17 from 5-8 p.m., and again on Saturday, March 19, noon-3 p.m. For information, to RSVP, or to make an appointment, call (678) 803-2626. Check out the facility online at www.GaVetRehab.com.