Red was diagnosed with arthritis by Dr. Suzanne Fariello at the Cambridge Valley Veterinary Clinic this morning, especially in his left leg and both hips. Dr. Fariello sat down with me (and Red) and we mapped out our own little war on arthritis, I think it’s a good one.

We are giving him some advance joint medicine, some anti-inflammatory pain killers for the next two weeks, and this morning we began laser treat, a new and much buzzed about approach to joint and muscle problems for dogs.

Red is nine years old, I’ve had him for three of those years, and he has worked and run just about every day of his life. At this age, working border collies often get joint and muscle problems and pain.

Lately, as I’ve mentioned, he has been limping and visibly uncomfortable. Dr. Fariello thinks we can beat back the arthritis if we move quickly and are creative, I like her plan.

In a couple of weeks Cassandra, a vet tech who is trained in massage, will also begin some massage work. Dr. Fariello and I agreed on this varied but not too invasive approach to Red. Including the four laser treatments – one today, three next week, and the medicine and the exam, the bill came to $307.

Well worth it to ease the pain and discomfort and get Red back to work (especially with his loving but useless sister running around). I told him he was lucky he was not back on that farm in Northern Ireland, things might have turned out differently.

Red had to put on protective goggles, and I thought he was Mr. Cool, as usual. He didn’t move or flinch. All the dog feels in this treatment is warmth, it is painful. We could see some results from the treatment as early as tomorrow. I’m going to bring him out to sheep every day, but just have him lie down and watch Fate run around in circles. He has fun doing that, and it won’t  hurt his legs.

I appreciate Dr. Fariello, she is open and direct and easy to talk to. She explains the options, the cost, and the likely results. I like that we have a plan for attacking the arthritis, not just an armful of pills, though we have that as well. I life understanding the diagnosis, the treatment and the cost. You can’t do better than that.

I’ll keep you all posted about the laser treatment, I’ve heard good things about it, and I hope we can ease some of Red’s pain.  Our therapy work will not be affected. Red has many good and healthy years ahead of him, I think, this will be exciting.