PANAMA CITY — Squirrels, consider this fair warning: Hummer and Rascal are back to their old selves.
Last month the two dogs were the first in Florida to undergo an in-office stem cell therapy procedure to treat conditions that limited their mobility, and their owners said it was a success.
It’s pretty obvious by looking at Hummer, a 6-year-old yellow lab, that he recently had surgery.
His fur is shaved on one of his shoulders and he’s also missing patches of hair on both hips.
For his owners, Barbara and Dustin Stokesbary, though, the missing fur is a small change compared to the ones he underwent after surgery.
Hummer used to struggle to get off the floor, he tired easily and he took steroids to make it through the day.
Now, he’s going on hour-long walks every evening, and he’s back to running and jumping.
He’s also resumed a loving greeting — sitting tall on the bed and putting his front paws on people’s shoulders — a perfect position to cover their faces with kisses.
Results for Hummer were almost immediate and without side effects, his owner, Barbara Stokesbary, said.
“They had told us that first weekend after the procedure to keep him calm … he acted like he hadn’t had anything done,†she said.
“We were just so hoping we would have a good outcome,†she said, and she’s satisfied with the results.
In October, the dogs were treated by veterinarians at Animal Care Center in Panama City Beach.
The procedure uses stem cells harvested from fat to treat osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, ligament and cartilage injuries and other degenerative diseases.
Stem cell treatments have been used on dogs, cats, horses and other animals for several years, but MediVet-America recently developed technology that allows the stem cells to be separated from fat in-office during a roughly four-hour procedure.
Fat is taken from the animal — in these instances the shoulder — and stem cells are derived, then injected to the affected area.
