Canine Sports Doctor Treats ‘Working’ Dogs : Trends: Denver vet specializes in bone and ligament injuries for police dogs, racing greyhounds, hunting dogs, sled dogs and search-and-rescue dogs. His clinic treats about 16,000 animals a year, some flown in from other countries.

Network limped into Alameda East Veterinary Hospital after twisting his toe in a race.

He got off lightly: minor surgery, a night in the hospital and a physical therapy prescription. Network’s doctor said the dog should be able to race in about eight weeks if he sticks to his therapy regimen--ice packs on his leg, massages and slow exercise to build up a range of motion.

“A dog athlete is just like a human athlete. It gets hurt,” said Jim McGehee, who trains and races Network and 45 other greyhounds at Mile High Greyhound Park in Denver.

“If the dog is top quality, then it’s worth whatever it takes to make it better,” said McGehee, who has a whirlpool and an electrolysis machine at his training facility for dogs undergoing physical therapy.

“There was a time when I would put a dog on a plane and take it to Florida for care,” McGehee said. “There have always been veterinarians to take care of racing dogs. It’s just that Dr. (Robert) Taylor specializes in it.”

Taylor, who co-founded Alameda East, is one of the new breed of canine sports doctor. His specialty is bone and ligament injuries for working dogs--police dogs, racing greyhounds, hunting dogs, search-and-rescue dogs and sled dogs.

Alameda East has more than 30,000 clients and treats about 16,000 animals a year. About 40% of them are canine athletes, some flown in from other countries.

Surgery at Alameda East costs an average of $1,000, but McGehee and other dog trainers say it’s a drop in the bucket for a racing dog worth $90,000 that can earn $60,000 in six months.

“Canine athletes must be able to return to the track, the field or the squad car and perform at an enhanced level,” said Taylor. “If you can fix a greyhound and have him go back and run and win . . . well, it can be a challenge.”

At his clinic, dogs receive hip replacements, are fitted with limb braces and undergo physical therapy. Taylor invented a method for rebuilding joints employing Gore-Tex prostheses, similar to human knee-replacement surgery.

Dr. Mark Bloomberg of the Small Animal Clinic at the University of Florida said there always have been veterinarians who treated hunting dogs and other canine athletes, but until now there was no medium for sharing their knowledge. Now the dog doctors can meet at conferences and seminars and swap new techniques.

Many belong to the American Canine Sports Medicine Assn., which started in 1991 and has more than 300 member U.S. veterinarians.

“Within the veterinarian profession there has been much more specialization,” said association president Philip Toll. “It is very much like human exercise specialists. As technology increases, there is more doctors can do.”

Bloomberg said treating dog athletes is always a challenge.

“We can make your pet walk all the time, but can we make it run through a burning house or find a boat in 25-degree water?” he asked.

Taylor said dogs have occupation-related injuries just as humans do. For racing dogs, ankle and foot injuries are common, while police dogs often show up with gunshot wounds and broken bones. Search-and-rescue dogs are prone to scratches and muscle strains from all their outdoor work. Some drug enforcement dogs have come in needing hip replacements from the stress of jumping in and out of planes and buses, Taylor said.

Ninety percent or more of Alameda East’s athlete patients recover and return to work, said Janelle Stubbings, Taylor’s assistant, but she said a dog may not perform the same after an injury.

“Usually an injury will take something off the athlete,” McGehee said. “Maybe a tenth of a second. Maybe a hundredth of a second, but something.

“Then again, I’ve had an animal that had the whole toe removed and was still a grade-A racer.”