New Veterinary Procedure Giving Pet Owners Hope

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - For Quincey the Dachshund, the prognosis was grim when he came into the office of certified Veterinary Chiropractitoner Dr. Astrid Manning.

"The owners came in crying because they were gonna put him down," Manning said.

Quincey was unable to move because of a disc in his neck and the family's vet said he would need surgery. But because he was 13 and had a heart murmur, it wasn't worth the risk.

So when Quincey's owners found out about an alternative called Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation and Cold Laser Therapy they decided to give it a try.

The treatments are non-invasive where a beam of photons are sent into the body, but can be highly effective.

In Quincey's case he was able to move all his limbs again within a few months.

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His case is extreme, but not uncommon. Dr. Manning who was already a Chiropractor in Castle Shannon decided to take a Certified Veterinary Chiropractitoner Course after her own dog had similar issues.

"He'd lost the use of his back legs, they gave me prednisone it didn't work and they said double your dose...did an MRI and bloodwork and there was nothing," Dr. Manning said.

A veterinarian neurosurgeon offered the CVCP course in Philadelphia and promised results. Manning met Dr. Brian Hougentogler at that certification. He's a Veterinarian at the Golden Mile Animal Clinic on Route 286 and also took interest in becoming a chiropractitioner to give his patients options.

Dr. Hougentogler said, "It's a drug free, anesthesia free relatively to things like spinal surgery and other things...it's a lower cost alternative."

In fact, in Quincey's case it was thousands of dollars lower. His surgery would've been $4,800 and wasn't guaranteed to work. Dr. Manning's treatments were just $250.

"People come back to you they come back crying because they're their animals, they're their babies too so it's awesome to see the results," said Manning.

The treatments aren't painful, are short and can be done on animals ranging from pigs to horses for joint and muscle pain as well as arthritis and wounds. In cases where an animal has a terminal disease like cancer it can help ease their pain.

"Instead of an owner putting them down when they first come in, they're able to extend that...give them not just length but quality," said Dr. Hougentogler.