Pet pampering and care lives up to Park City standards

Underwater treadmills are a helpful, low impact addition to a pet's rehab schedule. Photo: courtesy Powder Paws Veterinary Clinic.

PARK CITY, Utah. – Here in Park City, pets are treated like royalty. Some get to venture to places that most humans will never visit in their lifetime. Pets, namely of the canine persuasion or the occasional cat traveler, play just as hard, if not harder, than their owners. In a town where pets are a priority, these extra services could be considered the new standard.

“The clients of Park City really do take good care of their dogs above and beyond and really like to spoil and pamper their pets,” said Doginhaus general manager Paula Hacker.

Speaking of above and beyond, spa services at Doginhaus include anything from typical grooming to their deluxe package, including ear cleaning, nail trimming, tooth brushing, blueberry moisturizing facial, and a paw-dicure.

That’s right, a paw-dicure. “With the paw-dicure, they would have a moisturizing pad balm applied to [paw pads],” said Hacker. “They’d get their nails clipped and then dremeled smooth, and they can even have their nails painted.”

Another add-on to any grooming session is a blueberry facial, which according to the website, involves “mild foaming facial cleanser exfoliates, soothes and hydrates the skin. Our blueberry facial removes tear stains without stinging eyes and comes with a light massage.”

The Powder Paws Veterinary Clinic offers some rehabilitation services that may seem extraordinary from the outside looking in, like laser therapy, hydrotherapy, and acupuncture. Powder Paws also has a chiropractic specialist, Dr. Alissa Grover, pet acupuncturist, Dr. Katie Clawson, and a dental care specialist.

“What sets us apart in Park City is that we do rehabilitation, and we have an underwater treadmill that we work with. We do have acupuncture, and we offer laser as well,” said Powder Paws office manager Jackie Pohl. “We have a class three and a class four laser.”

It seems every other active dog (or even owner) in Park City has experienced a torn CCL. Post-surgery, dog-owners can utilize any of these therapies to promote healing, strength, or ease soreness in the affected areas.

“We do laser on incision site after surgery. So, if we spay or neuter an animal, we’ll do our class four laser on the incision site. It just helps promote healing faster. And then with our class three laser back in rehab, we will use that for animals that may have joint problems or just some pain in an area.”

Laser therapy can also be used in healing or ridding hematomas, a blood mass within tissue, usually a dog’s ear.

Picture a small pool mostly filled, with a treadmill in it, and that’s what hydrotherapy looks like. Pohl said hydrotherapy could help a multitude of ailments, “It can be age-related, it can be DM, which is like doggy multiple sclerosis where they start to lose the feeling in their back legs. So, when they get in the water, they can walk on a treadmill and use their back legs more. For the most part, it’s all dogs or ACLs that we tend to see. The other thing is agility dogs; if they’re in training, they could come and do some of the underwater treadmill.”

Acupuncture is an alternative form of medicine originating from China and a large part of traditional Chinese medicine. This pseudoscience where thin needles are placed at specific points around the body can be used for aches, pains, stress, and more. And now Fido or Whiskers can benefit from the ancient practice for all the same reasons.

“Acupuncture has become really popular,” said Pohl. “It became so popular we actually had to limit the spaces we have each day available… I think we definitely are in the area where people are more open to trying some of these alternative measures.”

Pohl says many clients stack therapies, most using laser followed by acupuncture or laser with hydrotherapy, or all three. Powder Paws also offers non-anesthetic dentistry, meaning pets won’t get put under for a tooth cleaning.

“Certain dogs that are brachiocephalic, [meaning] they have this squished in nose like a pug, Frenchie, or a boxer, all those kinds of dogs. They do not do well under anesthesia, so if we can prevent a dog from being put on anesthesia and avoid any kind of risk, then we will,” said Pohl.

Pets in Park City fear not because there’s plenty of out-of-the-ordinary care services to keep them looking and feeling their best.