Jane and David Hoover’s dog, Granit, is more than a pet.
The 7 1/2-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever is David’s service dog.
David, who lives on the North Hill in New Castle, suffers seizures caused by post traumatic stress syndrome as a result of serving in Vietnam.
Granit is able to warn David when a seizure is coming. He will jump on him and lick David to distract him from going into a seizure.
“My husband would get so bad he would have to be hospitalized, but he hasn’t been in the hospital since he has had the dog,” Jane explained.
Yet, Granit began experiencing his own health problem.
Suffering from arthritis and a degenerative bone disease in both elbows, Granit had surgery in 2004. However, it was not successful. Because David is dependent on his faithful dog, he wanted to make sure Granit would receive the best care to restore his health.
While reading the July 14 issue of Time magazine, David came across an article about Vet-Stem Regenerative Veterinary Medicine. The San Diego-based Vet-Stem Inc. processes Vet-Stem regenerative cells to treat horses, dogs and cats suffering from tendon, ligament and joint injuries.
Immediately, David took the article to Granit’s veterinarian, Dr. Melanie Sumney of New Wilmington.
“Dr. Sumney was a little hesitant at first and told David she would research it further,” Jane admitted.
Instead, Sumney immersed herself so much into the research that she eventually became certified to offer stem cell therapy to animals.
According to Jamie Hampton of Vet-Stem Inc., the small animal online credentialing course became available in January.
“I was surprised that I could do this just being a general practice veterinarian,” Sumney said.
Yet on Aug. 11, Sumney made a surgical incision and collected cells from Granit’s adipose fat tissue. The cells were sent via Federal Express to Vet-Stem in California. The cells were then isolated and harvested, then returned to Sumney on Aug. 13. She then injected the harvested cells into the dog’s elbow joint.
If successful, the cells will cause regeneration of the joint tissue.
Vet-Stem has successfully treated more than 2,600 tendon ligament joint injuries in horses. Small animal veterinarians have just started using the procedure.
“This is a breakthrough. The cells aren’t foreign to the body, engineered or modified in any way,” noted Dr. Robert Harman, founder of Vet-Stem. “Fat stem cell therapy avoids the ethical concerns surrounding embryonic stem cell research because our process uses the animal’s own fat to isolate adult stem cells.”
Although Sumney will not make an assessment before 30 days, the Hoovers are already pleased with how Granit is acting.
“He is ready to go,” Jane said. “We are so shocked how energetic he is after only eight days.
“My husband has been a basketcase over this,” she continued. “If it weren’t for the dog, he would be a hermit.”
Sumney said she has mixed emotions about being the first veterinarian in the area to perform the procedure.
“I’m a little anxious. If it turns out, it will be great. It would be nice if I could offer it to other clients.”
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VET-STEM: Stem cell procedure helps ailing service dog
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