A Tale of Two Canines: Companion Animal Hospital Uses Regenerative Therapy to Give Dogs a Second Chance
Centreville, VA (December 2, 2013) – Paul Jaco, DVM, of North Benton, Kentucky’s Companion Animal Hospital, . So when euthanasia was the best he could offer families of canine patients diagnosed with paralysis or kidney failure, he knew how painful a message it was to deliver.
Lucky for seven year-old toy poodle, Jake, and six year-old Dachshund, Buster, the veterinarian’s decision to apply an innovative regenerative therapy known as VIVR8 gave both dogs a second ‘leash’ on life. “When Dr. Jaco said Jake was in kidney failure, I asked what we needed to do and he regretfully said that we needed to consider putting him to sleep that afternoon. Boy did that hit hard,” said Jake’s owner, who had brought the poodle, lethargic and dehydrated, to Companion Animal Hospital in April after he had been unusually thirsty yet unable to keep fluids down. Blood work confirmed the worst: his BUN reading, ten times above normal, showed renal failure.
“Knowing this news was hard to swallow, Dr. Jaco advised we get another opinion. So we took Jake and a copy of his blood work to another vet who voiced the same concerns. He had had a dog in kidney failure and they had flushed its kidneys with IV fluids and gotten its BUN down to 85. It lived two more years. That became our hope for Jake.
“We took him back to Dr. Jaco to get IV fluids and he said he had a colleague that had successfully dealt with dogs with kidney failure using a new, regenerative technology: stem cell mediators. They had discussed Jake’s blood work and agreed introducing regenerative stem cell mediators couldn’t hurt.”
Jake’s first dose of VIVREGEN VIVR8 was the next day, with a follow-up dose a week later.
“We continued slow drip IV fluids for two days prior to repeating Jake’s blood work,” said Dr. Jaco. The dog’s BUN, originally 130+, was now 8, much closer to the ideal 7-25 range. “At first I didn’t believe the result, so I had the technician repeat the test, only to get the same result.”
Jake’s kidneys were flushed twice a week for a month, and when retested, still showed BUN levels within normal. For the second month of treatment, fluid injections were reduced to once weekly. BUN levels again remained normal.
“Jake has ended up being our little miracle dog,” says his grateful owner.
Last January, Buster the dachshund began acting oddly: walking backwards away from his water bowl, and hiding and cowering in the shower. Initially, his owner thought it was a dental problem but within weeks, the dog’s condition had degenerated to the point where he could not walk, and shaking and panting, he was rushed to emergency veterinary services.
“A radiograph revealed a mineralized disc at 11-12, but disc space was normal,” said Buster’s owner. “It was diagnosed as an inflamed disc. The emergency vet said the symptoms we saw were likely neurological issues related to the back injury.” Buster was released, with pain medication (Tramadol) and a muscle relaxer (Methocarbamol) and to be kept on strict confinement.
The improvement was as short-lived as the prescription and by the end of February, his owner said, Buster was partially paralyzed: “He could only drag his back legs behind him.” Buster was taken to Dr. Jaco, where the veterinarian assured his owner that the dog still had feeling in his pawpads and could still wag his tail. But after more weeks of rest and medication, the dog remained wobbly and showed no sign of improvement.
Dr. Jaco recommended the new regenerative treatment, VIVR8 from VIVREGEN, LLC. On March 1, Buster was given his first VIVR8 injection, as well as Benadryl and a Previcox pain pack, and entered Companion Animal Hospital for a few days of observation. His second VIVR8 dose was March 7 and after each treatment, he was continued on muscle relaxers and pain medication.
“During the month and a half Buster was partially paralyzed, he experienced a staph infection on his belly and bladder infection because of the incontinence,” said Dr. Jaco. “He was given Cephalexin for the infection and Temaril-P for allergies. For the first few weeks, his owner did not notice any visible results from the VIVR8 treatments and was concerned that it was not working. I recommended taking Buster off the muscle relaxers.
“The very next day we saw improvement in his movement and his incontinence improved. Within days Buster was up and walking–with help using the towel-walking approach–and was fully eliminating his bladder. Each day the owner saw improvement and ordered a wheelchair to help rehabilitate his hindquarters as he had lost muscle tissue.
“After more than a month of partial paralysis, each day Buster continuedto improve significantly. He is now able to run, jump, roll over and wiggle around, scratch behind his ears and put his front feet in my lap,” said his owner. “We are grateful this treatment was available. Without it, we have no doubt in our minds that Buster’s quality of life would not have been good or we would have had to put him to sleep. He is back to about 95% of where he was before his injury. He’s a happy, inquisitive little guy able to run and play with his buddy, Mocha. We adopted them from SPCA together as rescues from a puppy mill.”
To see a video of Buster running and playing post treatment, visit the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=L898BWrhUj0
About VIVREGEN, LLC and VIVR8
VIVR8 by VIVREGEN, LLC is a natural biological matrix formulated as a convenient injection powder. Unlike other conventional injection products that only temporarily alleviate symptoms, VIVR8 has the ability to activate a host’s own stem cells and restore damaged tissue to its natural health. VIVR8 is given subcutaneously, and reduces risk of infecting joints.
VIVREGEN, LLC is a biotech company engaged in the development and commercialization of regenerative tissue technologies. Its Regenerative Tissue Matrix (RTM), is the result of a breakthrough in collaborative stem cell research among researchers, physicians and veterinarians. Its inaugural product, VIVR8, has been studied in a wide range of inflammatory and degenerative conditions due to aging, soft tissue injury and in post-operative rehabilitation.
VIVREGEN is working with veterinarians like Dr. Jaco and the Companion Animal Hospital (www.companionanimalhospitalky.com) pioneering a new era of non-invasive, cutting-edge regenerative technology for pets. To learn more about joining this exciting endeavor through partnership, collaboration or as part of its organization please email info@vivregen.com and visit www.vivregen.com
Photo 1: Jake the toy poodle. (Photo courtesy of VIVREGEN)
Photo 2: Buster the dachsund in his wheel chair rehabbing after treatment. (Photo courtesy of VIVREGEN)
Photo 3: Happy and healthy buster today. (Photo courtesy of VIVREGEN)
Benjamin Lee, COO VIVREGEN, LLC blee@vivregen.com