On an extremely hot and humid day in late July, Denise O’Hagan appeared before me on screen. Dressed in summer coral and hair up-swept, she was seated in the light and airy southern coastal decorated room of her parents home in Mount Pleasant, SC. Carolina Boxer Rescue Foster Whiskey had just arrived at his new foster home six days prior. It was apparent when Whiskey quickly joined Denise in frame, he was joyous to be reunited with the human which had helped him regain his mobility.
Faced with the difficult decision when Whiskey was diagnosed with infection that his owners could not afford to treat, he was surrendered to and entered the care of Carolina Boxer Rescue (CBR) in February 2022. CBR Vetting volunteers, his new foster family, and CBR Vet partners and generous donations helped Whiskey receive the medical care, MRI scans, mobility equipment, medication he needed to properly diagnose and treat his infection and a home to heal. As Whiskey’s infection began to clear, Whiskey and his body were ready to regain mobility and get back to being a normal dog. What do you do and where do you start when you’ve had a bad infection that has affected your mobility and now you need to regain your mobility and rebuild your balance and muscle strength? If you are a human, the doctor sends you to Physical Therapy (PT). Turns out, the same goes for animals. That’s where CBR, Pawmetto Paws Canine Therapy and Whiskey lives all intersect.
Prior to joining her sister at Pawmetto Paws Canine Therapy in South Carolina, Denise worked with humans as a PT. Denise and her sister, Shannon, were born and raised outside of Philadelphia, PA. Both attended college and graduate school at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT where they earned Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology, Human Movement and Sport Science, as well as Master’s of Science Degrees in Physical Therapy. They moved to San Diego, CA, in 2001 and spent many years working in outpatient, orthopedic clinics specializing in sports related injuries and post surgical rehabilitation. Shannon returned to the east coast in 2009 and Denise in 2022. Recently, Denise and Shannon combined their love of dogs with their passion for helping others and both received their certification from the Canine Rehab Institute https://www.caninerehabinstitute.com/
In 2021, Pawmetto Paws Canine Therapy LLC, https://pawmettopawscaninetherapy.com/ was established. It is a mobile canine therapy practice aimed at treating and rehabilitating dogs suffering from a variety of ailments including musculoskeletal injuries, neurological impairments, weakness, loss of mobility, pain, and post surgical complications. They also treat injuries associated with aging dogs including: arthritis, loss of balance, impaired gait, and joint pain
It’s wonderful to see Denise and Whiskey on screen near the coast of South Carolina while I’m located in the foothills of North Carolina. Denise’s father has generously offered to be our cameraman while connected via FaceTime on this sweltering July afternoon. Denise explains that Whiskey was one of the most important cases that she had seen since she and her sister had established and began their canine therapy services. How did you become connected with CBR and Whiskey? “Courtney McDonald, CBR Vetting coordinator, reached out to us and told us about Whiskey and his need for therapy. We definitely wanted to help him regain his mobility.” I ask what Whiskey’s overall personality was like when she first met him. “Whiskey was and has continued to be an outgoing, loving, happy and determined boy. You could tell that he just wanted to be able to do normal dog things and was trying to do them regardless of his infection or ability or lack thereof. He was determined that he was going to get back to his normal.” Whiskey can tell we are talking about him and his happy face appears on screen and he gives Denise a few kisses before making himself comfortable beside her. I ask Denise if Whiskey’s therapy is similar to that of a human who may have experienced a broken bone in a limb that may be near a nerve. “Yes, in Whiskey’s case the infection happened to be near his spine where so many nerves are located and that impacted his mobility of his back legs. Once the infection was cleared with antibiotics we just had to get those muscles firing again. Much like if you have a broken leg and it’s in a cast. Those leg muscles lose muscle mass because they are not being used or activated. People may compensate with your other leg and other body parts and they become stronger than the broken leg while the leg heals. Once the leg bone is healed and the cast is off you need to regain strength and rebuild those leg muscles. In Whiskey’s case, his upper body is really strong because he has been using it so much since the infection. Now that he is on all four feet again and fully mobile, we are working on rebuilding those leg muscles and balancing his front strength and hind end strength.” She went on to explain how wonderful CBR fosters and volunteers have been to help Whiskey over the past year with his rehabilitation and helping by making sure he was continuing his therapy exercises while in their care.
While we continue to visit Whiskey is up and about bopping the phone camera, saying hello to his new foster dad and back to Denise’s side as we continue. I ask how Whiskey is adjusting to his new foster home. To my delight, Whiskey’s new foster dad William, joins the conversation. “Whiskey has settled in quite easily into our home. Whiskey is such a happy and easy going dog. He absolutely loves people and enjoys going outside but with it being so hot we only can do short stints. While we are out he enjoys the sight and sounds of nature. We often find him people watching from the windows or our front door. He likes to be near his people for plenty of head rubs or scratches. We even came in to find he had made himself home on the couch one evening. We often find him relaxing in his crate on his own. We imagine that is his safe space given he has had so many foster homes since he has been in the rescue. He’s been a joy to have here.” I ask Denise if she will be continuing to work with Whiskey one on one now that he is close to her. “Yes we are going to work with Cavaletti poles this week.” I ask what type of home they think would be best for Whiskey. “A one level home with a fenced yard with plenty of room for him to explore, a person or a family that will also take him on rides in the car, and someone who will enjoy playing with him and his toys, especially his squeaky hedgehog.”
As our time draws to an end I ask Denise what services Pawmetto Paws Canine Therapy offers. “We offer laser therapy, PEMF mat treatments, therapeutic exercise, massage,stretching, gait analysis and agility training. We also provide client education on home exercises appropriate for their pets. We are a mobile service so if your pet is in a lot of pain it is easier for us to come to them versus having the pet who is already hurting to travel to us. We also have a flexible schedule for evenings and weekends. For a full breakdown of all the conditions we treat and services we offer we encourage people to visit our website https://pawmettopawscaninetherapy.com/ or give us a call so we can discuss any issues their pet may be experiencing. There are many CBR boxers who once lived in South Carolina and may have moved or may be far away from where you are located. I ask, do you offer online consultations? “Yes we can definitely set up a consult or if pet parents that live in other states need to find a Canine Therapist near them they can visit the Canine Rehab Institute website and conduct a search for a therapist via the locate a therapist search function on their site.” https://www.caninerehabinstitute.com/Find_A_Therapist.html Denise continues, “While we wait for Whiskey’s forever family to find him we will continue to help Whiskey get stronger every day. We just want him to find his happy forever home. He fought through this infection, he has regained mobility and he is ready to be a loving companion to someone or a family. He deserves the very best in life and we can’t wait until that day comes.”
If you are interested or in need of Pawmetto Canine Therapy Services you can visit their website https://pawmettopawscaninetherapy.com/ or contact Shannon at 858-531-7630
Or Denise at 858-361-7722. You can also follow them on social media on Instagram @pawmettopawsk9therapy or Facebook Pawmetto Paws Canine Therapy, LLC.