As veterinary care for pets continues to advance, one of the amazing ways dog owners can help their dogs heal or regain mobility is with the use of orthopedics. Sometimes it looks like the making of a bionic dog, especially when a pet in pain or without a limb can suddenly walk or even run again! There have been tremendous strides made (excuse the pun) in both surgery and prosthetics and orthopedics for pets in the past decade. One company at the forefront is Animal Orthocare. We had the chance to speak to Derrick Campana, who founded Animal Orthocare in June of 2005 and is the company’s current president, as well as being a certified Orthotist/Prosthetist. Here’s what he had to say!
What inspired you to starting helping other animals in addition to humans?
In 2004, A veterinarian came to the office I was working at (Hanger Orthopedic Group in Bethesda, MD) with her dog named Charles. He had a congenital deformity and was in need of a prosthesis. I built the device and the veterinarian said that there is a very high need for these services, but no one does this. At the time only one other company had been established about 6 months before I started Animal Orthocare in 2005.
Which is your most popular product?
Approximately 85% of our business is fabricating stifle braces (ACL knee braces for animals). CCL ruptures are the most common injury that we see and help via the use of our custom knee (stifle) braces. From there, we se a lot of prosthetics, then hock braces for Achilles injuries and carpal braces for carpal hyperextension.
Aside from the information you provide in your website’s FAQ, are there other questions or concerns from vets or pet owners that you are asked frequently?
Probably the biggest misconception is the price of our products. Most people think that only rich people can afford a brace or prosthesis, but in reality they are much less expensive than surgery and can save thousands in the long run. Braces can be worn and surgery can be avoided on a lot of cases I see.
Is there any advice you have for pet owners who are trying to decide between surgery and a brace?
Speak to your veterinarian about options other than surgery. There are more and more open minded vets that see good results from bracing, etc. but there are still a lot that are stuck in their ways and believe surgery is the only option. I would try a brace for certain diagnoses and see if the limb can heal. If not, surgery is always there as an option and the brace can be worn post-operatively instead of splints that can cause irritation and cost money every week during bandage changes. These weekly bandage changes can cost more than the brace itself and with the brace you can monitor wounds every day because you are able to take it on and off.
Are there cases where you would not (or did not) recommend trying a brace or prosthetic?
We can only make prosthetics for animals that have most of their limb remaining. We get calls everyday asking why we cannot make a prosthesis for shorter limbed patients and the reasons are 1) we cannot suspend a prosthesis from a short residual limb 2) The animal would not have control over a prosthesis and end up hurting themselves if the residual limb is too short).
I would not always recommend a brace for a completely ruptured CCL since the leg does not repair itself most of the time with this diagnosis , but we sometimes brace the contralateral limb as a preventative measure as a lot of the time the CCL on the other limb can tear.
Have you heard any stories where a rescue or shelter purchased one of your products, which helped the pet get adopted?
Rescue organizations contact us all the time and use our braces. We give very good discounts to rescue leagues.
Do you have any other inspiring success stories about individual pets who’ve benefitted from your products?
Google “Hudson the railroad puppy”. (We did and found this heart-wrenching story with a very happy ending on the Daily News here.)
Anything else you’d like to share with our audience of potential adopters, pet owners, animal welfare advocates, shelter and rescue staff and volunteers?
I believe this is a great option for a lot of dogs/dog owners. Don’t let veterinarians corner you into surgery without researching options.
Thank you for your time! For more information about Animal Orthocare products, visit www.animalorthocare.com
Cats love cardboard boxes! The official Boxing Day holiday doesn’t really have much to do with cardboard boxes, and even less to do with cats, but our foster cats thought it would be fun to recognize the name of this holiday with their own feline twist! Boxing Day is an actual national holiday in Great Britian, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, and a number of other countries too. It typically is the day after Christmas Day, and there are a few stories as to how this holiday got it’s start. The theme seems to be giving gifts to those that are needy. We’d like to suggest celebrating Boxing Day by helping our needy animal friends — dogs, cats, and other pets who are up for adoption in shelters and rescues. Fill up a cardboard box with goodies that will make their holiday season a little happier as they wait for their new home. The cats may enjoy the box you bring your gifts in most of all! Happy Boxing Day!
North America’s largest non-profit pet adoption search engine reports 25% growth in holiday search traffic. 
Here’s a happy adoption story just in time for the holidays… times two! These adorable puppies were given this chance at their happy beginning to the rest of their lives thanks to the humane society who, seeing past their wild ways and recognizing their potential took them in and began their socialization, and of course too the compassionate person that adopted them. We heard about this doubly happy adoption story thank to the Adopt-a-Pet.com Happy Beginnings Fund grant program for shelters and rescues. The grants provide funding to shelters and rescues for their adoption programs, to make more Happy Beginnings like these two possible. If Adopt-a-Pet.com helped you find a pet to adopt, and you have a happy adoption story and photo that you’d like to share to help inspire others to adopt a pet, we’d love to hear from you! Please send an email with a photo or two of you and your adopted pet (or just your pet, but we love seeing your smiling faces too) attached to us here at 
You may not know that giving a pet as a gift is a hot topic of debate in the animal sheltering and rescue community! Some folks feel very strongly that pets should never be given as gifts in any circumstance, while others think giving pets as gifts is great no matter what… and then there a lot of us who fall somewhere in between. If you are thinking about giving someone a pet as a gift this holiday season or any time, there are three questions you can ask yourself and the gift recipient to make your gift giving a great experience for everyone involved – including the gifted pet!
Thanksgiving. Giving thanks. Thinking about what I am thankful for fills my soul with joy and gratitude. I am thankful for everyone who’s adopted a pet. Thankful for the kindhearted people who dedicate their lives to saving and caring for homeless pets. Thankful for volunteers and staff at shelters and rescues. Thankful for generous people who open their wallets along with their hearts to support animal welfare with their donations. Thankful for good Samaritans who stop whatever they were doing to help a lost pet they see running or injured in the street. Thankful for kind veterinarians who donate their skills and discount their products to help pets and families who couldn’t afford to care for their pet otherwise. Thankful for philanthropic-minded executives at companies who sponsor and donate to non-profits — like ours, making our free services for shelters, rescues, and adopters possible. Thankful for people who’s kindness to animals extends to their plate, especially on this holiday, and who celebrate with delicious animal-free fare. And last, but not least, I’m thankful for the love of my friends, family, and all my pets! As the staff here at Adopt-a-Pet.com are feeling thankful, we thought this would be a great time to share some of our favorite personal pet photos. This is Adopt-a-Pet.com team member Dana and her dog Joey taking in a gorgeous view from the peak of a hike.