Animal rehabilitation is the treatment of pets recovering from injury or surgery, trying to prevent injury or surgery, and managing chronic conditions. Physical therapy is an essential component to recovery in the human medical field, and we take the same principals and apply them to the treatment of your pet! Our goal is to help your pet live a happy, painfree and functional lifestyle.

Almost everyone! We treat a variety of diagnoses including: pre-operative and post-operative conditions, neurologic and orthopedic dysfunctions, muscle strains or spasms, ligament sprains or tears, dysplasias, degenerative myelopathy, arthritis, bursitis, and tendinopathies. We also see highly active pets and competitive athletes for conditioning and maintenance in order to prevent injury.  Athletes demand a lot from their bodies, and here at ARC we can help maximize your pet's full athletic potential.

While some conditions cannot be “cured”, the goal of rehabilitation is to improve your pet’s quality of life.

We see mostly dogs, but our therapist has also worked with a few cats and rabbits with great success.

Our therapist, Karen Atlas, is a licensed human physical therapist (PT, MPT) and a certified canine rehabilitation therapist (CCRT).  Since she is a licensed physical therapist, her education and experience has afforded her with an advanced understanding of biomechanics and joint kinematics making her a skilled movement expert.  Furthermore, in addition to Karen’s unique knowledge base, her manual therapy skills from her 20 years of experience as a licensed physical therapist has been integral to the success of her practice with animals.

Currently, there are two continuing education programs in the United States that provide certification in rehabilitation therapy with pets: The Canine Rehabilitation Institute (CRI) (http://www.caninerehabinstitute.com/) and Northeast Seminars (https://www.utvetce.com/canine-rehab-ccrp). You must be a licensed human physical therapist or veterinarian to obtain your CCRT from the Canine Rehabilitation Institute. The program through Northeast Seminars is very similar, but you become a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner (CCRP) upon completion.

We offer a wide variety of treatment options and our therapist will work with you to design a treatment plan to target your pet’s specific needs. Treatment options include: hydrotherapy (underwater treadmill), land-based therapeutic exercises, balance therapy, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, cold laser therapy, manual therapy/mobilizations, therapeutic ultrasound, microcurrent electrical therapy (AlphaStim), pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF), and brace/cart fittings.

For many procedures, we can get started right away! We would start with passive modalities to relieve pain and decrease inflammation to expedite healing. Once the incision has healed, we can get your pet started with low-impact exercise in the underwater treadmill. Every pet is different and we do require that your pet be cleared by his/her veterinarian prior to coming in for rehabilitation therapy.  We will continue to be in good communication with your pet's veterinarian throughout their rehabilitation process.

Please reach out to your treating veterinarian and ask them to send us a signed copy of our referral form along with full medical records. We will reach out to you to schedule an evaluation when we receive the records and signed referral form. For more information, please see our "New Patients" page.

Yes. We require that your pet be seen for the issue that requires rehabilitation.  We only treat patients here at ARC and leave the medical diagnosing to your primary and/or specialist veterinarian.  This is required to ensure that your pet is in good medical condition, he/she is appropriate for rehabilitation, and to inform us of any underlying medical issues that could affect their plan of care.

The first visit entails a brief evaluation by our onsite veterinarian, a comprehensive physical assessment by our rehabilitation therapist, and any treatment that we do that day. If our therapist feels that the underwater treadmill is appropriate to try, for example, we will do this during the first visit as well!

While it’s true that the underwater treadmill is not for everyone, most pets take to the underwater treadmill very well! We strive to make it a fun and positive environment and even those that don’t like water typically acclimate to the underwater treadmill very well.

Unfortunately no. During the initial evaluation, our therapist will determine if the underwater treadmill is an appropriate treatment option for your pet. We do recycle the water, so pets that are incontinent unfortunately cannot go in the underwater treadmill for sanitary reasons. We also do not allow pets with open wounds or sores to go in the water due to risk of infection. Other conditions that may prevent your pet from exercising in the underwater treadmill include: heart defects, epilepsy, asthma, and exercise-induced collapse.

Yes! We have state-of-the-art equipment that filters and recycles the water. We also keep the water chlorinated. The chlorine level is checked twice daily and is maintained at a safe, yet effective level. We change the water and do a full sanitization of the underwater treadmill approximately once every two weeks.

We check the water twice daily to ensure that the chlorine level is safe, yet effective. If your pet has sensitive skin, the chlorine can cause some dryness. We are happy to rinse the chlorine off of your pet with fresh water after each session if this is a concern.