Redefining Pet Mobility and Comfort with Non-Invasive Laser Technology

Pamela Moffat: Hi, I'm Pamela Moffat from Avant Wellness and I'm here with Doctor Tom Walsh who uses our laser. And I wanted to say we’re very excited to be here for DVM360 Fetch in Long Beach, California. Tom, good to see you.

Tom Walsh: Yes. Nice to see you, Pamela.

Pamela Moffat: We're fairly new to the vet world. We've only been talking to vets, probably for the last, in a serious way, for the last year years. So, as we get more awareness, we have more vets using this with spectacular results. The kind of results that Tom gets—he, of course, will not brag about them, but I will. We see, time and time again, he gets results that other vets can't. You know, he very often gets dogs from other vets, who they've sort of given up. And you know, there was one you were talking about yesterday.

Tom Walsh: Yes. Yesterday, I was talking about a dog that had a mysterious cervical nerve impingement that we could not replicate. We couldn't find a reason why on an MRI or anything like that, the neurologist said I don't know what we can do with this. And we actually started working on this with the laser. We added some ice to it as well to help reduce that inflammation. And within just a few treatments, we were able to get that inflammation down which then released the dog to have a better range of motion with its neck. Once that started happening, the dog realized it didn't hurt to move, and it got to a situation where it no longer wanted to lay in the bed all day long. It wanted to get up. and within, I believe it was 8 treatments, 9 treatments with the laser we had that dog outside running up a hill like it was a puppy.

Pamela Moffat: Yeah, that was incredible. I've seen that—where this dog literally could not walk to its bed and then was sprinting up the hill. I mean, you're bringing dogs basically back to life.

Tom Walsh: I really appreciate that. The whole reason why I love to focus on rehabilitation is because I get to help them down that journey. The laser is the key component in my toolbox. Because of the pain mitigation, the anti-inflammatory properties, and also how it speeds healing. The thing is rarely do you ever come across a product that is actually affordable and over delivers what they were actually producing, and that's what I found in Avant and I wouldn't go back to anything else.

Pamela Moffat: We’re glad to hear that. So, one of the things that I know you love is all of the protocols that we have.

Tom Walsh: So, indeed.

Pamela Moffat: We've got 250 protocols. We've got special vet protocols for dogs, small animals, horses. And tell me about how quickly you can get results for this?

Tom Walsh: It's not only quick to get results, but as you know, unlike a human patient where you can tell them to stay still, every vet out there knows our animals and our patients are wiggly. So, it's not only about the number of protocols you have, it is how fast you can get to them. That's why there's a favorites button in here that I utilize every single day. I'm able to pin the protocols to favorites and I'm able to get that result right away. Usually within 60 seconds of picking this device up I'm lasering. And the great thing is because of the safety of this laser, I don't have to worry about burning the animal or burning its coat or anything like that. It also gives my technicians a lot of confidence and flexibility to be able to use this.

You know, one of the key components to this laser is you designed it with a practitioner in mind. And you see how tiny it is. But here's the thing: the practitioner is very busy. We as vets are surfing on a very high wave every single day, going from appointment to appointment as fast as we can, getting records in, making sure the medications are right, all of those things. This means our time is extremely limited. The safety and the simplicity of this device allows you to hand it to your technician. Without fear they can use it, while you're busy doing something else that you need to get done as of a vet. So, I appreciate the fact that it was designed with that practitioner in mind in the application of the real world. When it gets too busy and the fur is flying out there, the reality is this: in a technician’s hands you know that’s it's trusted device. You know the animals not going to be hurt, the technicians not going to be hurt, and you know the treatments going to be right.

Pamela Moffat: So, we know that you were used to using Class IV lasers.

Tom Walsh: It's all I've been around.

Pamela Moffat: Yeah, as a lot of vets are used to that. And then you came across this, which is a Class 3B laser. You had to sort of get your head around that. Tell us why you switched and how you found it works.

Tom Walsh: So, it really confused me, because going from a Class IV laser I thought for sure that it wouldn't be powerful enough, in those words, to where it would get down to the joint capsule. It wouldn't get to the IVDD spaces that I needed to get to reduce those nerves and that sort of thing. So, when I started seeing the results—that they were as good or better than I expected—I actually gave you guys a call and said, “I need more education about this, because I'm not sure why this product is working better than advertised.” And I realized that this is a light wave. When you tune it properly, it gets the right results. When you tune that, just like tuning a radio station, you can hear it clearly. The cells hear it clearly. And with that, the message it's telling them is to reduce inflammation, to reduce pain, and start the ATP process.

Pamela Moffat: So, how about the speed? How long is your treatment?

Tom Walsh: Normally my protocols last anywhere from four to five minutes, but what I love about this is the portability of being able to move it around to different places. I can actually extend my protocols to cover other areas. That animal may be there for a cruciate repair, but chances are it's got some inflammation in its shoulders as well. Because it has to balance that weight somewhere. So, the ability to be able to treat both things and within the same protocol, and moving around so easily, and the literature backs it up—that over range of motion, laser is more effective.

Pamela Moffat: How has this little laser affected your business?

Tom Walsh: You know, Pamela, this laser has changed my business completely. What has happened over the past three years, four years, is I've gone from being mobile-based to having my own facility. When I was mobile, I was treating about 12 to 15 dogs a week at the max. Now I'm averaging 25 to 30 a day.

Pamela Moffat: So, you've doubled your business.

Tom Walsh: I have, and I have to believe that it's part and parcel because of the process, but the product that I have to use every single day, every single patient gets this laser. So, there's no deniability that this is the key component in the factor.

Pamela Moffat: We like to hear that. Tom specializes in small animals, but we also have a number of vets who are using this for forces. One in particular is using it for all the top show horses. She will go to a show. They don't actually allow, from what I understand, Class IV at the show, so this is really the best tool. And in the course of two minutes, that horse is ready to go. They're jumping Grand Prix, 5-6 feet and timed. You know, it takes a lot out of the animal. The great thing about horses and having this sort of device is you have to be mobile. You have to go in the stalls. If you're dealing with thoroughbreds, they’re…

Tom Walsh: Yes, a little anxious.

Pamela Moffat: Very anxious. This doesn't make any noise. You can approach them. It’s fast, and it's a great device for both large and small animals. You know, we do have a mission at Avant. That mission is to make laser therapy more accessible to people. And the way we do that is we make this laser really simple. The protocols are all in there. You just push the button and go. We make it affordable, so more people can get the laser. And this was really designed with practitioners in mind. You know, it's easy to use, it's fast, and it's the most powerful in its class. So, we love it at Avant because we have so many people who love this laser, and we hear these miracle stories all the time. And we're just here to tell vets that we are here to help them.

Tom Walsh: That's right.

Pamela Moffat: We're so excited to be here at DVM360 Fetch. For more information, just give us a call or visit the website at www.avantwellness.com.