Barley and Sam, senior dogs with young hearts!

Barley and Sam…two of my all-time favorite wheatons. They are furry, friendly, and full blown adorable. You’d never know it but these two are both seniors, 12 and 14 to be exact. Mentally, they are sharp as tacks, and physically they aren’t so bad anymore either. When we first met these two fur babies, however, they were both struggling with structural instability. As the saying goes, age before beauty, so we shall start with Sam’s story first.

Sam was having a horrible time getting around. He walked like he was drunk, his back legs were crossing over, he was sideways and falling, and frankly his fur parents were very worried. His symptoms didn’t look good at all and after doing all the standard testing and procedures, they still didn’t have any definitive issues. At that they were referred to us and decided to give chiropractic a try.

Sam was definitely having a very hard time. His mental state was all there, he was happy as a clam and would run up to greet you, yet half the time he flopped over and lost his back end on the way. What looked very serious, ended up being a result of unstable structure. Sam had a great deal of arthritis and was very limited in his mobility. He wanted to move faster than his little body could take him. After his first adjustment though, Sam was already moving better. He wasn’t falling over and he was navigating much easier. Within the first few adjustments his fur mom caught him on the stairs, something he hadn’t done in years. Sam continues to surprise us at each step of the way, and he’s improved leaps and bounds both literally and figuratively!

Barley, on the other hand, is what his mom might call a drama queen. Whereas many animals are stoic when it comes to injury or discomfort, Barley was one to let you know. He like Sam had a great deal of arthritis, especially in his limbs, making it very tough to walk without pain. Barley feels loads better when he gets adjusted and you can easily tell by the amount of activity he does afterwards. Between the running and the playing, Barley becomes a new sort of pooch after treatments.

We love these two sweet faces and couldn’t imagine not knowing them or their fur parents. They bring more joy to our practice and more love to our hearts just knowing how appreciative they are. It never ceases to amaze us how quickly they respond and we only hope they decide to stick around for the next several years!