My pit bull was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament. I was told by the vet that without the surgery, he would become increasingly lame and I would have to put him down. A friend whose dog she worked with, suggested I contact Deborah Carroll. Deborah spoke with me over the phone and had clearly had many previous similar clients with good outcomes. We set up an appt for Deborah to come and see my dog. She immediately had an excellent rapport with him but also good control of him as he can be a bit unruly. Deborah did a thorough assessment based on the information from the x-rays, the veterinarian, and her own palpation of the knee. She determined the course of action that my dog needed. I'm not going to say it was easy- definitely took a commitment from me- but that was a really big component of the regimen. I learned the technique for giving him therapy walks, how to ice, massage, and I learned the best supplements for him to promote healing. Within about a month, he was markedly better. After two months, he was taking normal walks again and no longer favoring his other knee. I have friends who used Deborah's services after a dog had had recommended surgery. Apparently it is important to begin to strengthen surrounding muscles to avoid reinjury. The beauty of Deborah is that she not only empowers you to rehab your pet yourself, but if there are glitches (such as my dog refusing to turn around half way through the walk- HAHAHA!) she will brainstorm with you to figure out what to do. Deborah is one of those rare professionals who understands that healing is often more of an art than a science. read more

My hound/shepherd mix (Oki) was diagnosed with a torn ACL. After a consult with a surgical vet, I wanted to see what other options were available for Oki. Post-surgical recovery carried a high risk of "catastrophic failure" of my dog's back leg and seemed like an extremely painful and difficult trial to put my dog through. My vet recommended Deborah as an alternative. After consulting with Deborah, we decided to try an alternative approach to surgery. She was realistic and said that he might still have to get surgery because of his size (90+lbs) but it was worth trying to heal the ACL through rehabilitation exercises, chiropractic care and restricted movement (no running, jumping). Deborah set up a detailed care plan for me and was always available when I had questions. We set up periodic appointments to monitor Oki's progress and make adjustments to his rehab exercises. It took about 6 months but Oki's ACL healed well and he never needed surgery or pain meds. He also thoroughly enjoyed his chiropractic adjustments. He was able to go back to almost all normal activities and avoided the pain and trauma of surgery. Since then, Deborah has become my go to person whenever one of my dogs is injured. She offers practical and realistic advice, has great rapport with the dogs and I trust her opinion completely. Most importantly, Deborah is always thinking of the dog's comfort and quality of life - allowing me to make informed decisions that maximize the benefit for my dogs. read more

Deborah is a skilled, thoughtful, thorough and kind practitioner. Her service is a bargain, but also a fantastic investment in your pet's health. We owe our 13-year-old Lab/Shep's health to Deborah's care. Our dog has always been a happy athlete, so when she hurt her knee 3 years ago, we were saddened at the end of her active life, as we didn't think she was a good candidate for surgery. We found Deborah on an Internet search, and we are so glad we did. Deborah showed us that in many cases, rehab is a better choice than surgery (and if you do surgery, rehab is the best way to ensure a full recovery). Deborah came to our home, allowing our dog to be evaluated and to learn her new therapy routine in the reassuring comfort of familiar surroundings. Deborah helped us identify places within walking distance that were well suited for daily exercises. Deborah's recommendations were holistic--how can we make our home safer for a recovering dog? what nutritional supplements or dietary changes will help? how can we convince our pet to submit to icing and exercises? We have recommended Deborah's services to many friends and will continue to do so. read more

I can't say enough good things about Deb. She really helped our 12 year old Great Dane maintain her mobility up to end. 12 is ancient for a Great Dane, and Miss Moneypenny battled a lot of inflammation and ACL issues at the end of her life. Deb had a plan, she had easy manageable exercises and nutritional advice, and really just kept us all, Miss Moneypenny included, positive and moving instead of sliding into immobility and an early demise. Miss Moneypenny passed away just shy of her 13th birthday and she was walking almost to the very end. Anyone whose ever helped a gentle giant at the end knows that the ability to move is crucial to quality of life. Another great thing about Deb is that she comes to you! If you've got a big dog, or a dog that has mobility issues, you know how hard it is to get them up and out to the vets or the doggie rehab at Central Texas Specialty (Thai is really great over there too). The fact that Deb can come out to you makes things so much easier and more manageable. Deb is a very kind compassionate and skilled professional. We were very happy to welcome her into our home and our lives. read more

I highly recommend Deborah for any pet rehab. My 9-year-old Great Dane collapsed for some unknown reason and was paralyzed. Two vets told me he probably wouldn't recover and I should consider putting him down. Fortunately one of the vets told me about Deborah and, being a Great Dane owner herself, she came to visit my big boy. She started him on laser therapy and built the "Sully station" out of PVC pipe just for his personal rehab. Within a very short period of time he was able to get up with help and take short walks. He progressed to being able to get up on his own and walk around the house and eventually outside unaided. Because of Deborah I was able to have my wonderful companion for an extra year-and-a-half. She cares about every pet she treats and equally cares about the people who love their companions. Deborah is a wonderful educator and knows how to think out of the box. She'll always be a special person to me! read more