It was not an easy decision to send Tre for treatment and the costs were astronomical at $ 43,000.00 but how do you put a price on a child’s eyes. Tre was sent to China for an experimental stem cell procedure and three weeks later his vision is miraculously improved to 20/200. The treatment process consisted of four stem cell intravenous injections and a spinal catheter.

Quoted from Mrs. Burgos “It probably exceeded my expectations” and “I never expected it to be this much this fast”. “It is just really amazing watching him see something for the first time” she added.

Stem cell treatment for human use is not approved in the US, and it needs to be.  Duke University is researching stem cells and many other medical research teams are now conducting research, however there needs to be more for both people and pets. Families now can save the stem cells from the umbilical cord at birth and more are now informed that it can save your babies lives and good health.

This summer bone marrow transplants are also becoming available for dogs at Washington State University which have been used with humans for the past 20 years saving thousands of lives. 

Stem cell transplants and babies cord blood stem cells offer a more immediate and economical method to prevent some types of diseases and may even be used to treat cancer if we continue the research.  The lack of side effects such as surgeries, and pain are eliminated with stem cell transplants.

 Courtesy of : http://www.fi.edu/learn/heart/blood/red.html

So if you have a dog, cat or pet and might have a child on the way consider banking the cord stem cells for the future, it just might produce a miracle in your child’s life as it has with dogs.

(Mrs.Burgos quote is courtesy of My Fox Orlando

 http://www.cordblood.com/”>http://www.cordblood.com 

Signs of Heat Stroke:

Especially with overweight dogs, panting heavily can be a sign of overheating and vomiting is another symptom. You have to ask whether it is worth the risk to walk your dog in high heat and if you think it is hot, remember it is much hotter for a dog without sweat glands to offset the body’s heat. An emergency trip to the vet involves IV’s, drugs and other costly treatments.

Warning: do not leave your dog in a car while you go shopping even for milder days and if all the windows are open, temperatures in a parked car can rise to over a 100 degrees in minutes.

Symptoms:  to watch out for are:  thirst, headache, nausea, sluggish, higher body temperature, sweating, irritability and a raspy throat with difficulty breathing are all signs of heat exhaustion.

An early morning walk is not a safe bet for heat stroke can also occur in higher morning temperatures and the key is not to overly exert your dog. Dogs are also lower to the ground and are getting heat from the earth or sidewalks especially if it is muggy and humid in high heat temperatures. Some dog owners use what is called a “cool coat” and a tube of Nutri-cal.

Just because you do not think it is hot does not mean it is the same for your dog and you must remember dogs usually have a lot more fur on their bodies. Dogs can overheat very quickly and stop breathing or go into shock.

Always bring cool drinking water to reduce body temperature as you are walking your dog in higher temperatures.

Quick Action for Heat Stroke:

Tips on massaging your pet has so many health benefits and here is how to relieve pain, promote a healthy coat and skin and countless other reasons why you should learn how to massage your pet.

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The herb eyebright can be used by making a tea and using it daily as a wash, for it relieves irritated eyes. You can also add it to your dog’s drinking water to be taking internally for it can fight off infections similarly to Echinacea tea.

Also using sea salt in a saline solution by dissolving about 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt in 1/2 cup boiling water. Let this cool and apply with a squeeze from a cotton ball as it can shrink the swelling and cleans out the infection and mucus.

Today and in the summer season it is not uncommon for your dog to itch all over. It is the season of fleas, ticks, mites and other creatures that bite into your dog in the warmer climates and seasons.

Simple Solutions:Use a teaspoon of Brewers Yeast or 1 capsule in tablet form and add into your dog’s food. Some recommend tea tree oil and rubbed over the affected scaly patches will bring relief. Aloe is great for healing raw scratchy skin and dry skin patches which you can apply liberally.

Commercial shampoos use harsh chemicals and can actually aggravate a skin itchy problem. For an all over solution bath your dog in cool water and use baking soda mixed with water and lightly towel dry without rubbing the skin. Your dog can dry in the warm sun naturally without the heat from a hairdryer which actually aggravates the skin.

If your dog has insect bites, cuts, wounds or sores use a drop or two of Echinacea which has natural anti-biotic properties.

A dog will get overheated in the high summer temperatures and heat exhaustion can be serious to your pet’s health.

Keep your dog healthy and safe in the summer heat is easily and inexpensive with simple solutions.

Teri Salvador

 Tags:

Dog itchy skin, dog skin problems, dog, dogs, dog eye problems, ticks, fleas, mites, dog eye infection, conjunctivitis in dogs, dog healthy, Dog heat exhaustion, dog is itching all over,

In northern New Jersey, you can get a hit of angina medicine right out of the tap, and in Tucson, Arizona you can have some free antibiotics in your H2O.

The Federal government does not have testing in place for drugs in your tap water, and there are no safety limits. Cities like NYC, Miami, Boston and Chicago have no testing for the 9 million people that are using tap water for drinking.

In New York City the health department reports that New Yorkers are getting a free hit of estrogen, anti-convulsing medication, mood stabilizers and tranquilizers.  So if you drink tap water in New York City you may either fall asleep often or grow breasts.

Water treatment facilities are not capable of removing the drugs, even with high levels of chorine used to clean the water. If your using tap water it now contains supposedly minute, or small amounts of these drugs. Fish are being affected by it so are pets and what is worse than that is the high levels of bleach or chlorine which is a carcinogen used to clean water.  Stronger concentrations of chlorine is used because the water is that dirty that more is needed to ensure the public safety.  Although the chlorine will kill you first.

In Europe, drinking water is filtered with carbon, or ozonated to remove harmful pharmaceutical drugs at their treatment facilities.  This process actually the ozone can eliminate viruses also.  These two types of treatments should be used in keeping drugs out of drinking water in North American water treatment facilities.

Tip of the Day:

Use Filtered water, reverse osmosis, pure mineral water and if that isn’t available boil the water, let cool and keep in the refrigerator for your dog.

TAGS:   drinking water, filtered water, hidden drugs in your dog’s drinking water, dog drinking pharmaceutical drugs, dogs, pharmaceutical drugs, pure mineral water, antibiotics, viagra, drugs in water.

Written By:  Teri Salvador

Rainier the German Shepherd

Healing Elbow Dysplasia With Stem Cell Transplants

I recently had the pleasure of talking to Susan Page whose dog Rainier led her to seek Stem Cell transplants for a very serious illness.   As you can see from the photo Rainier is a magnificient beautiful dog with alot of life and spirit for living.  Rainier goes for the gusto in life at full tilt as Susan explains, he loves to move around and is not a layed back dog.

Rainier is a German Shepherd that developed elbow dysplasia around the age of only 5 months. This physical problem stopped the idea of the training Susan had in mind for Rainier to become an assisted care trained dog.

Rainier would try to go on walks with Susan but on his first year’s birthday, he would fall on his painful leg.

Although the German Shepherd breed will have a tendency towards hip dysplasia, the elbow dysplasia was not a trait of this breed, and it was a most unusual development at such a young age.

Elbow dysplasia (ED) is a crippling disease of dogs, which leads to the development of irreversible and damaging arthritis at the elbow joint. It is a progressive disease, which worsens with age, and limit’s a dog’s quality of life.

Susan and her husband Jeff, searched for help from several area veterinarians and was referred to a well-known orthopedic surgeon who recommended arthroscopic surgery at the high cost of $ 8,000.00 with no guarantee of a successful outcome. The complications of surgery would include anesthetic death, infection at the surgical site and unresolved lameness due to the arthritis at the elbow. The surgery would necessitate the complete breaking of Rainier’s leg and a painful 12 weeks recovery, with heavy painkillers.

The surgeon’s assessment was that it was unusual for a dog of that young age to acquire elbow dysplasia and that there was really nothing they could do for Rainier except “keep him comfortable for the remainder of his life”. By this time, Rainier was only 14 months old and the thought of comfort level for such a long period of time, led Susan to search for more effective treatment options.

By late fall Rainier’s attempts at play had ceased and prevented him from any long walks for exercise and normal activity was compromised. You can see the heartbreak of a dog that size weighing 120 lbs who is still a puppy and wants to romp and play, not being able to move or enjoy his life.

Susan was watching a local TV station report one day that did a story on Dr. Tim McCarthy, a local veterinarian who was working with stem cell therapy for dogs.

She made an appointment and took Rainier in for an assessment and found that Dr. Tim suggested Rainier was a perfect candidate for a stem cell transplant and would gain benefit from such treatment. 

 Rainier after Stem Cell Transplant

During the first part of November 2007, the procedure scheduled for Rainier where 3-4 tablespoons of fat was harvested from Rainier’s upper shoulders, which took place on a Monday. The extraction was flown to Vet Stem where the stem cells were extracted from the fat and flown back to Dr. McCarthy on Wednesday and injected into Rainier’s affected elbow joint in a matter of days.  The Vet Stem company is on the cutting edge of medical regenerative disease and is experiencing much success with their method of extracting stem cells from fat tissue in animals.  As you see in the picture above Rainier is hanging out just after the sugery to implant the stem cells into his front elbow.

By January Rainier was up and walking better, with no signs of pain or discomfort.  After 3-4 months, he improved better to the point that he can walk up to 3 miles daily, with increased activities, which are normal for a dog his age.

Stem cells can be derived from fat, skin, and bone marrow amongst other tissues, which scientists are using in regenerative medicine to treat a variety of diseases and injuries in pets and humans. Horses and dogs are being treated with this procedure for anything from diseases, arthritis, fractures, and ligament tendon injuries.

This potential for stem cell transplants is huge, and may be expanded to treat nerves, liver, kidney, heart and other debilitating diseases in the future in regenerative medicine.

We can only hope that this research progresses for humans as well which holds great promise to us all in maintaining good health.

Stem Cells

Special thanks to Susan and Jeff Page -for sharing their story of Rainier’s healing elbow dysplasia in the hope that  readers and other dogs that are afflicted with this disease can find a cure and be healthy again.  We all wish Rainier and the Page family – much good health and happiness.

Written by: Teri Salvador

Tags:

Vet Stem Cell Transplants, arthritis, hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, stem cell transplant, Vet Stem, German Shepherd, stem cell transplants, regenerative medicine, stem cells, and ligament tendon injuries, Rainier’s Story, Healing Elbow Dysplasia with Stem Cell Transplants,