Golden Retriever Shows Quick Improvement After Being Injected With His Own Stem Cells
By BRIAN ROONEY and PETER IMBER
BURBANK, Calif., Jan. 9, 2008—
Meet Hunter, a 9-year-old golden retriever. His big, friendly personality dominates life at home with Frank and Linda Riha in Burbank, Calif.
"This is like our child," Linda said. "I mean he is such an important part of our family."
Whether eating, sleeping or going on his daily walks, Hunter calls the shots.
According to Frank, "life revolves around Hunter." And everybody knows him. "He's a celebrity on the street," said Linda.
But Hunter has a serious problem: severe arthritis in his left hip is so painful that he can't run or leap like a healthy dog.
"His leg, it's almost like it's lifeless and it'll drift back," Linda said, referring to Hunter's tendency to favor his right leg.
X-rays show that Hunter has hip dysplasia, a common ailment in purebred dogs that causes the ball of the leg bone to loosen from its socket, causing painful wearing on the joint.
"You can see that the edges of the bone are very worn away. They're not nearly as smooth," said veterinarian Jerry Bausman.
Facing the possibility of a shortened life for Hunter, the Rihas were considering a $10,000 hip replacement when the doctors offered something new, different and much less expensive. For only about $2,500, they could....................
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