Buddha steps from the pool and shakes vigorously.
Water, hair and perhaps some drool fly in all directions, but a tennis ball remains firmly clamped in the rottweiler?s mouth.
So is the way of things ? 20 minutes at a time ? at the Interstate Canine Swim Center in Aberdeen. Tucked away on Acorn Farm on Carsins Run Road, the Interstate Canine Swim Center specializes in providing “hydrotherapy” for dogs who have undergone surgery, or have debilitating diseases, that limit mobility.
“Dogs rehab faster by swimming. The quicker they can get in the pool, the better their recovery,” said the swim center’s owner Sharon L. McCamish.
Buddha is one such dog. To see him exit the pool, it is hard to tell that he has had several surgeries on his rear legs ? the last about three months ago. He is owned by Bethesda resident Robert Ricci.
“This was the closest facility that we could find,” Ricci said. As to Buddha?s recovery, Ricci said, “during our last visit, the vet said he was astonished.”
Bichon frise Toby may not be so lucky, but considering the 8-year-old dog of Forest Hill resident Kathy Hottel could barely walk on his left rear leg prior to hydrotherapy, he has come a long way.
“He blew out his leg chasing a cat,” Hottel admits with a smirk, but after several botched surgeries, finding a new vet and five sessions of swimming, Toby can now put some weight on his leg. I just want him to be OK.”
“By putting [dogs] in a pool, the buoyancy of their bodies will allow them to strengthen their muscles without damaging their joints,” said Bel Air veterinarian Jeffrey Hess.
Hess, whose Veterinarian Referral Hospital recommends swim therapy provided by the Instate Canine Swim Center, said, “We’re able to rehabilitate our patients quicker by using this type of therapy. It prevents muscle mass loss.”
Originally built in 1975, the 60-by-35-foot, 11-foot-deep indoor swimming pool, was designed to exercise horses. A huge rubber matted ramp sloping into the pool indicates its original purpose.
It made the transition to a canine-therapy facility 10 years ago and McCamish has owned the business for the past two years.
