At age 14, Elaine Butts’ golden retriever Molson was having trouble getting up and walking around.

Butts didn’t wait until her dog’s mobility got any worse. She took him to veterinarian James Mathias, who recommended a radical $2,600 procedure with results that couldn’t be guaranteed.

Soon Molson was having fat removed from his abdomen. From that fat, stem cells were extracted and then injected into his legs. Days later, Molson was standing up with ease, running and playing.

“I tell you that just gave the dog a new life,” said Butts, 43, of Germantown. “Even though he was older, he acted like he was a puppy.”

Six months later, she had the same, costly procedure repeated on Molson, who lived to be 15, passing away earlier this month. A happy, healthy last year was worth the money, Butts said.

“If they had not found this as an option, I would have lost Molson,” she said. “The stem cell treatment kept him happy and healthy for another year.”

Butts’ veterinary bills may sound staggering, but with the nation’s pet owners projected to spend close to $12.79 billion on health care for pets in 2010, according to the American Pet Products Association, she isn’t the only one spending big bucks at the vet.

In a time when many are cutting back, that projection is a significant increase over the $12 billion spent in 2009.

For the most part, pet owners are willing to make the financial sacrifice for pets, in some instances being more conscientious about their pets care than their own, veterinarians said.

“It’s just a part of their family and they ultimately are responsible for them so it’s a different relationship than even with people,” Mathias said.

“You’re responsible for your own upkeep and everything, but if your tooth hurts you decide if you are going to see the dentist. But those whose pets are suffering know they’re responsible for taking care of them.”

Options abound

Mathias, a vet at the Tipp City Veterinary Hospital and Wellness Center, started using the Vet-Stem stem cell treatment 18 months ago.

Previously, all he could do for dogs with painful arthritis and mobility issues was to give pain killers and anti-inflammatory treatments that are often hard on internal organs.

Now he has treated 22 dogs with Vet-Stem, including a 16-year-old husky mix.

“It has a great upside for repairing damaged tissue so we’ve just really been having fun with it,” Mathias said.

“They all have improved, some more dramatically than others, but they all have improved.”

In the procedure, a tablespoon of fat is extracted from the dog’s abdomen and sent to Vet-Stem. The dog goes home.

Vet-Stem harvests and concentrates the cells and sends them back to the vet’s office within 48 hours. They are then injected into the dog’s troubled area. The dog is given a mild sedative and goes homes after the injection.

Mathias also has a new tool in the K-Laser. The laser treats issues like acute allergic reactions with a one-dose, non-invasive treatment for about $50. Otherwise, animals would get high doses of cortisone, which causes dogs and cats to urinate frequently.

The veterinarians at Far Hills Animal Clinic in Centerville also have progressive offerings for patients.

Recently, the veterinarians started using a digital radiograph, which allows doctors to take X-rays, and look at them on a computer instead of having to process them.

The technology allows for more flexibility in manipulating the pictures to take a closer look at certain areas without having to repeat the procedure.

“Within seconds it is fed into a monitor and is up on the screen,” said veterinarian Douglas Coatney. “It saves time and the detail is amazing.”

A few radiographs cost around $200.

“I think now pets are more part of the family,” Coatney said. For some people who don’t have human children, pets are their children.

“And then the ones who have children say their animals are just as much a part of the family as the children.”

The value of healing

Lebanon veterinarian Cathy Petrasky has a regular client who drives her dog from the Washington, D.C., area to receive acupuncture treatments every several weeks from Petrasky.

The dog has had mobility issues for years and the owner has tried veterinary acupuncturists closer to home, but her pet seems to only get relief from Petrasky’s needles.

Acupuncture in animals follows the same principle as it does in people. The ancient Chinese medical technique theorizes that the body has an energy force that needs to be in balance.

The thin, acupuncture needles restore the balance when placed on certain points of the body.

A routine appointment with Petrasky costs around $70. Some animals come once a week and taper off as they feel better.

Petrasky says the procedure allows sick animals to feel better. She points out it won’t cure cancer or organ failure, but can help an animal not feel sick and allow it to feel like eating.

About 80 percent of her clients are animals with mobility issues, some due to age, some due to injury.

Her successes include a cat who had not walked in six months. After one appointment, it walked. After a fourth appointment, it was back to running, playing and jumping.

A dog with a tumor covering 25 percent of its brain was given relief from headaches. Instead of isolating itself from its family, the dog returned to interacting with the family. It had been given four months to live, but lived more than two years.

Petrasky, who also treats humans, once treated a 900-pound sow, who had not eaten for three days and was stiff. One treatment later, the sow was again eating.

“Whether it be that sow or the bunny rabbit or a dog or a cat or a person, I love seeing a tense face relax,” she said. “I love seeing the eyes shine.”

It is that kind of peace that keeps pet owner Butts spending on her 11-year-old dog, Bailey, just as she did on her late dog, Molson.

To do so, Butts and her husband, Bill, have borrowed from their retirement savings and taken money from family members. Before the stem cell treatment, Molson also had an $8,000 surgery to repair his throat.

Bailey may not be slowing down yet, but her owner says there’s no doubt in her mind what lengths she’ll go to when the dog does.

“I’m going to do the same thing for Bailey,” she said.

“These dogs are my children. I always wanted a boy and girl, but I just got them in dog form.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2216 or kmargolis@ DaytonDailyNews.com.

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