Bently had a repaired cruciate ligament early May and was still not walking on this leg when he was referred to us by his veterinary surgeon mid July. Initially his sessions were limited to 2 ½ minutes swim, rest, 2 ½ minutes swim, rest and final 2 ½ minutes swim. He has now increased this to 11 minutes swimming against the jets, rest and then a further 11 minutes swimming. Out walking he is now using the leg normally.

"Because he hadn't used his (rear) leg for some time before (the operation) he had a lot of muscle wastage. Hydrotherapy is great to encourage him to move his leg and build back muscle."

Megan is 13 ½ years old - and suffering from arthritis had become restricted in her mobility. She started swimming mid July and has one session every couple of weeks. With this type of non load bearing exercise she has built up her general fitness level and is steadily increasing her swim times.

"Since Megan's been swimming she has gained more strength in her back legs and is now able to chase her two canine companions."

Oscar is scheduled to have excision orthoplasty in October. He has been swimming once per week since August to increase muscle tone prior to the operation. His veterinary surgeon recommended hydrotherapy. Having good muscle tone prior to surgery can aid recovery post treatment.

"Since Oscar has been swimming he has built up his back leg muscles, stopped limping, and is in much better condition for his HD operation."

Basher is 12 years old and has arthritis and Chronic Degenerative Redicular Myopathy (CDRM) which is a condition that affects spinal nerves and thus co-ordination and movement. Hydrotherapy builds muscle and thus increases strength and ability for normal exercise such as walking.

"Basher has arthritis in his hips and has been swimming for two years to keep his muscles built up without damaging the joints. He now has CDRM also, and we find that swimming helps this a great deal, to keep his strength and improve mobility.