Making the move from treating humans to four-legged creatures was a natural transition for Caringbah’s Rhys Donovan.
The osteopath who trained in injury management and rehabilitation for people, took his passion for pets and created a place where animals can receive the same treatment as their owners.
He and co-founder Matt Breeds, of Cronulla, both 34, launched Animal Rehab Klinik (ARK) at Sutherland this month, in June.
It provides solutions for mainly dogs in pain – after surgery, injury or other conditions affecting their mobility due to old age including arthritis or spinal injuries.
There’s even personal training sessions for overweight dogs, and an underwater hydrotherapy treadmill that detects problems in walking.
And Mr Donovan’s helpful buddy, his dog Zara, is the in-house ‘quality control officer’ who tests the products.
Mr Donovan says techniques such as strengthening exercises are similar to how he would treat people.
And with more than 52,000 dogs in the shire, their business could well be in-demand.
“We both studied the animal biomechanical course [and] I was fascinated with how you can apply hands-on skills to treat animals that have no way of verbally communicating what is wrong with them,” he said.
“I was captivated to learn how to apply treatment that I’d done for so long for humans, to creatures with four or sometimes three legs.
“But you have to tap into your intuition more. If they’re not happy they give you subtle signals like a sideways glance, a growl or sometimes a bite.
“We follow their lead, and give them treats or toys.”
The aim is to give pets their quality of life back, he says.
“We’re not diagnosing,” Mr Donovan said.
“There’s a very fine line between what we can do and what a vet can do, and we respect that boundary because the vet is the primary carer – we work alongside them to improve outcomes.”
