Lapping It Up ; Ailing Dogs Take the Water Cure and Love It

Deborah Logerfo’s nightmare began in 2000 and lasted most of the year.

In constant pain, she was bedridden for seven months with a crippling hip condition. Unable to make her way from her bedroom to the kitchen without help, she feared she would be dependent on others forever.

She wants no other living creature to experience that kind of torment.

“I know what it’s like to have no hope,” said Logerfo, who has recovered. “To be able to offer hope to others is a miracle.”

She’s doing it every day. Her healing touch is aimed at dogs in crisis, but pet owners play an important role, as well.

“We offer a place where moms and dads can interact with their dogs and help them,” Logerfo said. “Interaction is a big thing on the road to recovery.”

In April, Logerfo and her partner, David Low, opened Paws to Swim in Rockville west of Richmond. The indoor swim center offers hydrotherapy for dogs recovering from surgery, battling arthritis or suffering from muscle and joint injuries.

The low-impact, cardiovascular exercise is growing in popularity, giving new meaning to the term dog paddle.

“I think people are becoming more aware of the benefits .*.*. of a holistic approach to medicine,” said Dr. Charles Hickey, owner of Short Pump Animal Hospital. He has referred several patients to Paws to Swim. “There are things we can do instead of popping a few pills to try to stop the pain.”

For many dogs, the answer is swimming. Hydrotherapy has been used for decades with horses, but in the past few years the benefits for dogs have been discovered. Among other things, the exercise strengthens the cardiovascular system, increases mobility in joints and helps with weight management.

Hickey and other veterinarians may recommend it for older dogs with arthritis or those that have suffered a stroke or paralysis. It’s also beneficial for overweight dogs, dogs with hip or elbow disorders and those with muscle stiffness or ligament damage. It’s even used to treat mood disorders.

Dogs that could not jump into the back of the family van are now doing so with grace. Those that weeks ago had to be carried up stairs can today go up without help.

“Sydney used to whimper when she’d go up the stairs,” said Lisa Austin about her 9-year-old German shepherd. “Now, she runs up and down them with ease. I didn’t realize swimming would help her, but she gets around so much better now.”

Austin took Sydney to Paws to Swim for the first time in April. The dog has been visiting weekly since. Typically, Sydney jumps up and down when they arrive, eager to get her feet wet. Then she makes a beeline for the pool, jumps in and fetches her Frisbee. Austin throws it over and over again.

“She’s lost five pounds and has gained muscle tone,” Austin said. “I used to call her ‘chicken legs’ because her back legs were so skinny. I can’t do that anymore.”

Paws to Swim features three heated pools. The large lap pool is 24 feet long and 13 feet wide. The oval pool is smaller and kept at a higher temperature for dogs that prefer warmer water. The training pool has a separate entrance and exit area for dogs that might be nervous about taking a dip.

“They can see the entrance and the exit,” Logerfo said. “They enjoy this pool because they have a reference point. It helps them feel comfortable because they can see a way out.”

The pools, which are 2 1/2 to 4 feet deep, are inside a 2,700- square-foot building designed by Low. Also inside is a doggie shower stall. Outside is an exercise area with jumps. The facility is behind the couple’s home on 3 acres off Pouncey Tract Road in Hanover County. Plans call for adding a mechanical lift to help disabled dogs into the water.

“We didn’t have any real expectations in starting the business,” said Low, an engineer. “But we developed a client base in days. The response has been overwhelming.”

The business began with a couple of clients a day. That’s grown to at least 10 dogs a day.

“This has been great,” said Scott Houghtaling, who takes his puppy, Sandy, to Paws to Swim. “It helps her burn off all that energy. She sleeps hard at night after coming here.”

Houghtaling and his wife, Ann-Marie, also wanted Sandy to learn to swim at an early age. Ann-Marie’s parents, sister and brother-in- law went, too, providing Sandy with her own cheering section.

“I caught some flak from friends for bringing Sandy here,” Houghtaling said. “They say, ‘She’s a Lab. Just throw her in.’ That could traumatize her. I want to do it the right way.”

Gayle Fridley’s Chesapeake Bay retriever, Chelsea, already knew how to swim when she arrived in April. But the 2-year-old dog has a congenital heart defect and doctors recommended swimming as a way to build up the heart muscle.

“I want to keep her as long as I can,” Fridley said. “So we will continue to come.”

Fridley walks beside the pool tossing duck decoys into the water. Chelsea swims as fast as she can after them, brings them back to the edge and barks for more.

Other dogs chase balls, Frisbees and toys as their owners cheer them on.

Another yellow Lab, also named Sandy, dives for hers.

“We had to coax her the first time, but she’s pretty much a water- loving dog now,” said her owner, Diane Glaze. “She can’t get enough.”

Sandy is recovering from hip surgery. She took to the pool 12 days after the operation on the advice of her surgeon.

“I never thought of swimming as a recovery tool for dogs,” Glaze said. “I was a little skeptical at first. But I’m a believer now. I’d pay double because she loves it and she’s getting better.”

Thirty-minute swim sessions start at $25. It costs more if a member of the staff, which consists of Logerfo, Low and eight volunteers, swims with the dog. Some dogs need assistance because of paralysis or other disabilities.

A Swim and Trim weight-reduction program is also offered.

“It’s a great experience,” said Yana Huffstickler, whose two dogs, Smiley and Montana, swim regularly. “It allows me to spend time with my dogs. It’s nice one-on-one time with them. It’s something we can do together.”

For Logerfo, it’s a chance to mingle with hundreds of dogs, including her own. Davos, her Bernese Mountain dog, was diagnosed in 2002 with elbow dysplasia, a congenital joint disease. She and Low drove 120 miles each way to a canine swim center in Northern Virginia. (Since then, another therapy center for dogs, Pamplin Animal Wellness Services, opened near Appomattox, between Richmond and Roanoke.)

“I loved going because I got to see his recovery, his progress,” Logerfo said. “It was a joy to take him to a place where I knew he was getting better.”

After three months, Davos’ therapy was complete. But time away from the pool proved detrimental as Davos’ stiffness returned.

Low and Logerfo, who were living in the Willow Lawn area at the time, decided to build an in-ground pool in the backyard. When others heard their plans, they asked if their dogs could swim there, too.

“That pool was getting bigger and bigger before it was even built,” Logerfo said.

A larger piece of land seemed to be the answer, so the couple moved west to Rockville. Planning and construction took about two years.

“This place has a great spirit,” Low said. “And the dogs have such spirit. We could learn a lot from them.”

For some dogs in pain, it’s a struggle in the beginning to swim for just a few minutes. Logerfo always takes a conservative approach.

“Typically, their muscles are weak, so we take it slow,” she said. “Every dog is different. I try to sense things — when they need to rest, when they need encouragement.”

Logerfo, who grew up in Long Island, N.Y., has worked with animals all her life and says she’s always been able to communicate with them. When she was 13, she began working at a Thoroughbred breeding and rehabilitation farm. She trained horses and took care of dogs.

When she moved to Warsaw in eastern Virginia in 1981, she started a pet-sitting business.

Logerfo, who also worked for five years at the Augusta, Maine, humane society, moved to Richmond in 1996 and worked for a while as the office manager at Low’s engineering firm. But she felt a strong pull to return to a career with animals, so she took a job with All Dog Playskool.

Then, four years ago, she developed the disabling ligament problem in her hip that confined her to bed with severe pain. She later tried alternative medicine, including glucose shots, to strengthen her ligaments. It worked.

“Now, when I see the dogs that come in here, I know what they are going through,” Logerfo said. “I have a connection with them.”

It’s one she plans never to break.

“This is not a job,” she said. “These dogs are like my children. I could never leave them.”

PAWS TO SWIM

WHAT: – Canine indoor swim center

WHERE: – Six miles west of Short Pump in Rockville

HOURS: – By appointment

COST: – From $25 to $45 for a 30-minute swim

DETAILS: – Call (804) 749-4972 or visit www.pawstoswim.

Hydrotherapy

Veterinarians may recommend hydrotherapy for a variety of ailments.

Arthritis: Older dogs get relief.

Obesity: Swimming burns calories.

After surgery: Muscles and ligaments regain strength without stressing joints.

Agility: Swimming limbers up dogs young and old.

Hip/elbow disorders: Flexibility improves.

Stroke or paralysis: Helps recover muscle tone.

Other benefits: Relieves boredom and increases stamina.