What Makes Us Different?
Rehabilitation for pets is not very well known amongst the general public. Both pet owners and veterinarians have very little idea of what is involved. A lot of owners think it might be something you use after their pet has surgery and a lot of vets think it is just about waving a laser and throwing a dog on an underwater treadmill.
It is WAY more than that....
I have now been a vet for 25 years but even as a new vet I was always interested in looking in to how to treat conditions in my patients where conventional medicine did not get great results. As a general rule what I found was these conditions were best managed when we used a multimodal approach - that is coming at a disease from multiple directions. It took me a while but finally I found Rehab and this discipline fit my philosophy perfectly.
Rehab has a unique way of approaching pet mobility and movement. We have had extra training in palpation and finding those sore spots and treating them is our super power. Approaching pain from many different directions and not relying on just one medication gives us the best results.
This means we can use it for lots of different pet mobility problems. And a group that benefits heaps from rehab are our senior pets. This is because of the approach we take. We aren't relying on medication alone. We have many ways of approaching pain. And more importantly we are always looking at long term improvements. So once we have pain under control we give pet parents options for strengthening and balance exercises to keep their old guys moving better for longer.
This is our big goal. Letting senior pet owners know that there are other options out there.
We give pet parents the help they need to get their injured and aging pets pain free so they can keep moving and do the things they love.
Dr Steve Denley
BVSc (University of Queensland)
CVA (Chi Institute)
CVCH (Chi Institute)
GradDip ABM (Box Hill Institute)
Certification in Clinical Integrative Canine Rehabilitation
(College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies)
The inspiration for starting this venture all came from a very personal experience. I found my pet greyhound, Henry one morning in a great deal of pain. He could not move his neck without yelping. Being a regular veterinarian I tried all the regular veterinary workups and treatments. A week went by and I could not shift his pain. I tried a qualified practitioner who practiced chiropractics and osteopathic therapies. The pain would not shift. Then finally, I consulted a colleague of mine who had just completed her veterinary acupuncture study. She performed one treatment and he was better the next day. I thought there has to be something in this and made a promise to myself to study acupuncture one day. So I suppose I have Henry and my colleague to thank for where I am now!
I graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 1998. I have been working in small animal practice in South East Queensland for the last 25 years.
I have thoroughly enjoyed conventional veterinary practice and in my ongoing search to improve my skills and education, undertook the Certificate of Veterinary Acupuncture from the Chi Institute which constituted 130 hours of training.
I am also certified as a Traditional Chinese Veterinary Herbologist recognised by the China Society of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine and the Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine (165 hours of training).
Following this I completed a Graduate Diploma in Animal Biomechanical Medicine (980 hours of training).
Then there are the rehab courses. I have completed a Certification in Clinical Integrative Canine Rehabilitation (160 hours of training) and am currently studying Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist through the Canine Rehabilitation Institute.
I am a member of the Animal Biomechanical Professionals Australia, the American Association of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine and the American Canine Sports Medicine Association.
When I'm not working I enjoy the chaotic family life, revegetating my property with native plants and singing and playing guitar in a country tinged covers band.
My pets include Ollie the foxie cross who given the choice would sleep all day under a fluffy blanket and four kids who Ollie is happy to share the fluffy blanket with.