This is a must-hear podcast for pet owners wanting access to the latest in pet quality of life and longevity. Whether your pet has fur, feathers, scales or shells, Cathy and Chris believe in treating your pet as a whole, both mind and body. Continuing a collaboration that began in 2003, Cathy and Chris share the gift of gab as well as their network in the pet rehab community. Using their vast expertise as Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioners (CCRPs), Cathy Symons CVT, CCRP, and Chris Cranston MPT, CCRP, offer relevant information and provocative interviews on their podcast, PetAbility. With an emphasis on mobility and independence, their show is about improving function, restoring confidence, alleviating fear, providing mental stimulation, and easing pain to help your pets live their best lives. Read on for more information about Cathy and Chris… Cathy Symons is the author of Blind Devotion: Enhancing the Lives of Blind and Visually Impaired Dogs. She was inspired to write this book after her first pug, Booda, lost his sight at the age of seven. Several years later, Cathy adopted a blind pug named Digger and wrote a children’s book, Watching Out for Digger, which she uses as a teaching tool for young children to learn about living with a disabled dog. After fifteen years of practice as a veterinary technician, Cathy went on to study canine rehabilitation at the University of Tennessee. In 2003, Cathy was one of the first thirty-six people in the world to become a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner. Shortly thereafter, Cathy was instrumental in establishing one of the foremost veterinary rehabilitation centers in the United States, the Sterling Impression Animal Rehabilitation Center of New England. She continues to follow the latest options in pet rehabilitation, including digital thermal imaging and laser therapy, and is currently working on her third book, Senior Dogs: Maintaining Mobility and Independence. Cathy resides in the New England area with her husband and their pug, Mac. Mac is a very confident little nugget who enjoys doing nose work with his mom. Chris Cranston has 20 years of experience in pet rehabilitation. She is excited to share her knowledge and reach a wide pet-loving audience through the PetAbility podcast. Chris loves seeing that light bulb go off when educating pet owners, so a podcast seemed like a natural fit. Chris started her career as a physical therapist (PT) – with people. When she moved to the Boston area in 2002, she saw it as an opportunity to do something different, so she combined her existing PT skills with her passion for animals. Chris became a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner through the University of Tennessee in 2004, one of the first 100 persons in the world to receive this certification. In addition to her CCRP designation, she has a Masters of Physical Therapy (1989) and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology (1987) from the University of Iowa. Chris had a successful mobile practice, consulted with a myriad of general practices and specialty clinics, and started the physical rehabilitation service for a large multi-specialty and emergency organization in the Greater Boston region. All this was before founding FlowDog, a stand-alone, full-service small animal physical rehabilitation facility in Waltham, MA. In 2017, Chris sold her business to the esteemed Angell Animal Medical Center of Boston, and is now podcasting, consulting for a tech company in the veterinary space, providing concierge mobile pet rehab, and working getting a product to market that will help our pets. Of course, Chris prioritizes enriching the lives of her twin Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Julep & Baxter, while indulging in all the snuggles they are willing to share with her!
In this episode, Cathy and Chris discuss the relatively common condition of bicipital tendinitis in the dog or inflammation of the biceps tendon at the shoulder joint. This comprehensive overview covers the following:
Listen as guest, Nancy Denier, professional dog trainer, dog multi-sport participant, and past Flyball judge, takes us into the action-packed world of Flyball, the ultimate team canine competition, that involves speed, strategy, and commitment. In this episode, you'll learn about:
Historically, dogs with a missing front leg had few options but to hop along. If a "fake leg" could be made, the process was costly and cumbersome. Enter 3D Pets, a company whose mission is to bring animal mobility devices into the 21st century by incorporating 3D printing. Listen to cofounder, Alex Tholl, describe how 3D Pets is revolutionizing the field of full front limb prosthetics and frontend wheelchairs for dogs, a...
Is your cat eating messily? Does your dog have bad breath? According to Beth Innis, DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVCHM, CVSMT, these could be signs of dental or periodontal disease. This episode covers our pet's oral health, from what you can do at home (Hint: brush, brush, brush!) to the role of professional dentistry. If you've ever had a toothache, you know how much mouth pain can impact your daily life. Home care plus professional...
What is something that 80% of dogs get after the age of 8, that cats are crafty at hiding, and that prevents birds from perching? It's arthritis: arth (= joint) + itis (= inflammation) and it's no joke! Just ask anybody who has undergone a total joint replacement due to this debilitating disease, a disease that can become so painful that it severely impacts the ability to participate in life's daily activities. In th...
Fascia: connective tissue that literally surrounds every cell of all bodies that has a huge impact on comfort, movement, and well-being, but very few talk about it. Dr. McCauley is changing that in the vet world. Listen as Laurie McCauley, DVM, DACVSMR, CCRT, CVA, CVC, also known as the Mother of Canine Physical Rehabilitation, tells us about the remarkable properties of fascia, how to keep our fascia healthy, and how to identify a...
Just because we call it passive range of motion (PROM), we not be passive about it! This episode describes why PROM is so vital to your pet's health and function. We detail how do a simple technique specifically with your pet's front limb joints. Listen to learn how to not only keep your pet well by maintaining its PROM for maximum comfort and function , but also restore crucial mobility if it is lost due to injury, surge...
"You can't change the past, but you can rescue the future" as quoted by the founder of Marley's Mutts, Zach Skow seems to say it all. Listen as Torie Beck, the coordinator of Miracle Mutts, takes us on a deep dive into Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue and her own experiences with her therapy dogs, Sully, her blind dog, and Roo, her bipedal puppy. This rescue uniquely focuses not only on the dogs saved from high r...
This is the hippest show we've launched to date! Why? Because it covers a very common type of hip surgery called an FHO (Femoral Head and neck Ostectomy) used to treat a variety of hip issues from traumatic injuries to severe arthritis caused by such conditions as hip dysplasia. Listen to Kechia Davis, DVM, DACVS, describe the anatomy of the hip, the surgery itself, the immediate post-op period and particular benefits of phys...
PetAbility Podcast hosts, Cathy and Chris, once again lend their experiences and expertise to the show - this time discussing Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome.
With the popularity of Frenchies and other smoosh-faced dogs exponentially increasing world-wide, caretakers of these endearing breeds need to be equipped to address some commonly concurrent medical issues. For exa...
If you’ve ever had the profound pleasure of loving a pet, you’ve undoubtedly experienced grief when they pass. But the loss of a pet is distinctive because our relationship with our pets is unique: non-verbal, ever-present, physical in nature, and full of unconditional love. We often have long-term and intense relationships with our pets that we have with no other human on earth. So to feel grief when our pet dies is real, wrenchin...
Horses are majestic beings that are uniquely equipped as highly intuitive, non-judgmental prey animals, to help humans be in the moment, less anxious, and even break through obstacles that may be holding us back in life. Kelly Dukarski, Certified Equine Gestaltist, explains Equine-Assisted Gestalt Therapy, which incorporates horses as a modality for profound healing and revelation of our true selves . Listen as Kelly delves into t...
One of the most agonizing questions for any pet owner is how do we know if our beloved pet is in pain? And if they are experiencing pain, how much pain is it and where is it coming from? PainTrace can help to answer all of these questions and more. It is a non-invasive, wearable monitoring system that quantifies pain simply, objectively, and painlessly. Listen to Katie Hickey, BSc, MSc, describe how the game-changing technology of ...
The Handicapped Pets Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to provide wheelchairs (Walkin' Wheels) for pets in need whose caregivers demonstrate financial hardship. Suzi Langer brings us through her personal story of receiving a wheelchair from this charity for her pug, Maxwell, to becoming president of the organization. If her passion is any indication of their commitment to the health and well-being of elderly, di...
Listen as Christina Powell tells us the story of Special Needs Animal Rescue League (SNARL). This SNARL is bound to make you smile! What started as a personal rescue of one wobbly German Shepherd became a multi-organization, multi-state/province, two-country machine that takes "red list" dogs from other shelters and finds them their forever homes. In other words, SNARL says "yes" to those who have been overlooke...
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Should my pet get a ramp or steps to help him onto the bed? This a question that Cathy and Chris get asked all the time. Listen as they debate the pros and cons of each option to help you determine what is best for your pet. They cover what specifications to look for and offer some suggestions for making your own. In the end, they agreed that what is ideal for one pe...
Our pet's are living longer, surviving illnesses and traumas that were unthinkable in the past. Couple this with our ever-growing attitudes that pets are full-fledged members of our families, then the fields of palliative care and pet hospice become vital. Cathy Symons, CVT, CCRP, deftly explains the integral role that physical rehabilitation plays to 1) alleviate symptoms and stress from medical conditions (palliative care) a...
A healthy pet starts with healthy nutrition, naturally! After all, “you are what you eat." That same adage applies to both us and our pets. Judy Morgan, DVM, CVA, CVCP, CVFT emphasizes that food is food - there should be no need to qualify what we eat as "people food,” nor what we feed our dogs and cats as “pet food.” Many commercial dog and cat foods contain the bare minimum to qualify as "complete and balanced"...
Losing a pet is hard. In fact, for Erika Sinner, it is the hardest thing she has ever experienced. Erika feels her shar-peis are family - her kids - and should be treated as such even after death. What does this mean and what did Erika do about it? Struggling to deal with her own pain and finding little out there to aid her in coping and healing, Erika wrote a book called Pets Are Family: It's as Simple As That. A self-profes...
Located in the knee, cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) injuries are the most common orthopedic injuries in dogs. Yet there is little consistency or agreement about how to manage this condition. It goes well beyond surgery vs. no surgery. Pet parents angst about what to do to help there dog's knee pain and function, then often second guess themselves once they decide. Rest assured that there is a multitude of options to choose f...
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.