We have an 11-year-old Standard Schnauzer, Mosel, who is very dear to us. He has always been a gifted athlete, strong willed, intelligent and blessed with good health.

In late 2014, fate dealt us a blow in the form of sudden blindness for Mosel. A few trips to the experts in Utrecht confirmed that his eyesight was gone for good, likely due to a poorly understood auto-immune disease.

You can imagine what an adjustment this was for the entire family, not to mention the stress it must have put on our dog. As we worked to adjust to the situation, things began well enough. We like to believe our dog’s natural intelligence allowed him to function normally in all other areas. For 3-4 months, we were impressed with how well he was doing.

Life is never static and things took a turn for the worst. Our dog suddenly became lethargic, unmotivated and refused to interact. Trying to work him past that, we noticed he would drag his back paws when he was walking, or he walked very slowly in a funny pigeon-toed manner. We started considering the possibility of having to put him down.

Still, we kept looking for a solution. Further diagnosis showed two issues. One was hypothyroidism, likely a side-effect of his auto-immune blindness. The good news was that this could be treated, and his condition turned around within a few months. However, we noticed he was still dragging his legs and walking strangely. So we now had an alert and engaged dog who could not walk.

The second issue was uncovered with an x-ray. Our vet pointed out how at the very end of the spine, where it joins the hips and legs, there was very little space between the vertebrae. Compression here was likely causing Mosel’s pain, the slow walking and the dragging of the hind legs. He had also lost much of his muscle around this area during the months when he was recovering from hypothyroidism.

This is when we were referred to Dr Aharon. She may be one of the few, or perhaps the only, vet specializing in orthomanual treatment of animals in the Netherlands. I should say that I was sceptical that anything could be done by this point. Our first visit was quick, but in that time Dr Aharon quickly saw the problem. With strong hands, she made some adjustments to realign part of his hips and bring them back into balance. She gave us instructions for the following six weeks. There was no need for medications.

On our second visit, she could see that he was much stronger and moving more fluidly. He also didn’t seem to be in pain any longer. Every day he got a little stronger and soon was walking with confidence.

We were making progress! After our third visit about another six weeks later, he had a spring in his step once more. Even Dr Aharon was amazed at how far he had come. She made some minor adjustments in his mid-spine area. We now have a happier, healthier dog.

While he will never return to being the athlete he once was (due to the blindness) he can at least exercise and enjoy the years he has left with us. The Netherlands is a great place for a dog, with parks, polders, forests and dog-friendly beaches to explore. I know our dog is happy he is mobile again. When we even mention a trip in the car, he bounces around like a puppy. Thank you Dr Aharon for making our dog young once again!

Cheers,
Joseph and Maria E.