Same day stem cell therapy helps Jake get the bounce in his step back and yes, Jake is a dog

STANLEY, Kan. - Jake looked depressed lying in a cage at the Stanley Veterinary clinic Wednesday morning, he was waiting for a ride home. Jake perked up when Elizabeth LeBlanc’s voice rose above the noise in the room. LeBlanc is Jake’s owner and was excited to see her 11-year-old yellow Labrador retriever.

“Hey good looking…,” said LeBlanc.

In the past couple months, LeBlanc and her family noticed Jake’s arthritis was getting worse. He would no longer go up and down the stairs at home. Even tempting him with food or treats wouldn’t work. They knew the pain was getting to him.

“That’s his life, playing with the kids, running and he couldn’t do those things,” said LeBlanc.

Then one day, the family was sitting on the couch watching Animal Planet on TV when a profile struck close to home. The program followed a dog, suffering the same type of arthritis Jake had, through stem cell therapy.

“We were just mesmerized watching the whole thing because it showed the surgery, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and it was like a different dog,” said LeBlanc.

It didn’t take long before daughter Mia asked if they could do that for Jake.

LeBlanc called her vet, Dr. Les Pelfrey, at Stanley Veterinary Clinic and asked if he knew about the procedure. Not only did he know about the therapy, someone was coming into the clinic to talk about an advancement in the procedure. Instead of sending the fatty tissue needed for the stem cells off for processing, they could process them in house, cutting the procedure time considerably and giving the pet better treatment.

“We have a better viability of the cells we collect and it’s less stress on the pet,” said Pelfrey. “We get it all done in one day.”

Jake spent the night for observation but by mid-day was ready to go.

“He can sit down a lot better, he’s happy,” said LeBlanc.

But what about his prognosis, will this give Jake any pain relief?

“I expect he’ll be doing a lot better in about two weeks. He’ll slowly improve over time and over time, it’ll be amazing,” said Pelfrey.