Every obese pet is a rehab case in the making

When you think rehabilitation medicine, you're forgiven for thinking it's mostly only for postsurgical, sports dog or working dog patients. Nope. Fetch dvm360 speaker Matthew Brunke, DVM, DACVSMR, CCRP, CVPP, CVA, wants you to think bigger.

“How many patients do you give carprofen to, or a joint supplement?” Dr. Brunke asks. “How many [patients] in your computer database qualify as obese?”

That's the pool of potential patients to help and the potential revenue to make.

“Those are your fundamentals,” he says. Thinking that way, “most of our patients need rehab.”

The extra weight could be making patients less comfortable and active and harming the human-animal bond.

“Work on aspects of getting better mobility with your patients,” he says. “Have frank and honest conversations about these issues [with clients].”

Enjoy a deeper dive into the topic here, and click below to hear Dr. Brunke pitch you on this untapped market of healing patients of pain, improving their mobility and giving clients better time with their pets.