Dr. Kelly Hutchison discusses the benefits of her process with White Whiskers Aging Pet Care.
Molly, a 10-year-old border collie, greets “Dr. Kelly” enthusiastically, her tail whipping back and forth.
“Hi, sweetheart,” veterinarian Kelly Hutchison says, petting Molly while the pooch’s eyes — one blue, one brown — gaze at her adoringly.
Molly has a busy hour ahead. Pulse-electromagnetic field therapy. Laser therapy. Acupuncture. And manual therapy, including tail-pulling.
Kids are warned not to pull on a dog’s tail. But Hutchison pulls Molly’s tail — firmly and precisely. It’s like traction in humans, she explains; sometimes, Molly will even let out a contented sigh during this stage of her therapy.
Hutchison is the owner of White Whiskers Aging Pet Care, a Colorado Springs-based mobile veterinary practice serving senior dogs and cats. She started the practice in May after 10 years as a primary care vet; most recently, she had worked at Westside Animal Hospital, where she became known as “the old dog vet.”
Why the focus on geriatric pets?
“I guess I feel like they have given us so much over the years,” she says, “and we get to this time in their life when there’s always sort of complicated things going on. … I really enjoy focusing on quality of life and improving their comfort level. Don’t get me wrong, I love kittens and puppies, but there’s something special about when they get to this time and knowing that we can make it better.”
And why a mobile practice?
That, she says, “was a no-brainer.” By going to the pet’s home, she’s seeing them where they’re most comfortable; going to the vet can cause anxiety and the travel can be uncomfortable for arthritic pets. Seeing the animal in its home environment also helps her see what daily challenges it might face, to which then she can suggest changes, such as mats on a slippery wood floor.
“It’s wonderful that she’s able to come to the house,” says Dana Thomas, Molly’s owner. “It’s great. She has a great rapport with Molly.”
Being at the home puts not only the pet but the pet owner more at ease, Hutchison says.
“We’re all sitting on the floor; I’m not in a white coat, I’m not behind a table,” she says. “It feels more like I am a friend or a part of the family, which makes it easier to have some of the more challenging discussions.”
Those challenging discussions can include when it’s time to let go; Hutchison’s services include euthanasia. “People say to me all the time, ‘I could never do that,’” she says. “But I took an oath to try to relieve suffering, and I take that very seriously. What’s hard for me is when owners can’t see the pain or when I see those situations where I believe an animal is suffering needlessly.”
White Whisker’s mission is twofold, Emily Todd, office manager, wrote in an email: “1) to elevate the golden years of a pet’s life so that their owners can spend more time celebrating their best friends and less time fretting over the inevitable changes that they undergo and 2) to provide a support network with a trusted friend and neighbor as that pet reaches the end of their lives and to aid in that transition to make it as peaceful and gentle as it can possibly be.”
Todd worked with Hutchison as a vet tech at Westside and followed her as she “took a leap of faith” to start her own practice. At some point, Hutchison’s husband, also a veterinarian, plans to join the practice.
Hutchison’s approach to pet care is a holistic one; she is certified in canine rehabilitation therapy and veterinary medical acupuncture and is pursuing certification as a canine pain practitioner.
“I am not super Eastern or super Western,” she says, “I feel like I do a pretty good job of straddling the middle.” So, in some cases, it might simply be a case of adjusting medications; at other times, alternative therapies such as acupuncture come into play.
A key part of the practice is having enough time to address the multitude of ailments a senior pet might have and educating the owner. “Everything we do now is focused around time and not being rushed,” Hutchison said. In a regular practice, she said, there never seemed to be enough time.
Time, as they say, is money, and some pet owners get a bit of sticker shock when inquiring about White Whisker’s services, Hutchison acknowledges. An initial Sunrise Visit, for example, is $395; that involves a 90-minute visit that includes an exam, development of a treatment plan and a walk-through of the house to look for potential pet hazards and other environmental issues. Aware that not every owner can afford that, she offers scaled-back visits as well. While she regularly sees Molly, who has arthritis and nerve impingement issues, other pets might simply require a phone check-in.
Thomas has had Molly since she was a puppy. She and her husband got her from a litter at a ranch in Pueblo. “We went there, we sat inside their pen and she picked us.”
Thomas first got to know Hutchison when she took her aged cat to Westside. She’s hoping Hutchison’s visits will help ensure Molly has many years to come. And knowing and being part of the treatment plan — helping with manual therapy, for example — helps Thomas ease her worries.
After a visit from Hutchison, Molly is often inclined to sleep for an hour or two, then Thomas will take her for a long walk to loosen her up. “We do notice a big difference,” she says, “even by the end of the evening.”
This content was originally published here.