- April 26, 2024
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Whenever Powder trains too hard, her joints act up. She crosses one leg over another while she walks, trying to alleviate the pressure on her shoulders and back.
Powder, an advanced certified search dog with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been having intermittent problems with her joints since she returned Haiti with her handler, Lt. Brian Smithey, of the Tampa Fire Department, after the 2010 earthquake.
The rescue dog, a black lab, is credited with finding a young woman alive after being buried in rubble for days, among other things.
Smithey and Powder traveled north to Flagler Beach Tuesday for a donated stem cell therapy treatment to regenerate Powder’s joints.
The procedure was sponsored by MediVet America, an animal stem cell researcher, and performed at Flagler Integrative Veterinary Center, a facility that opened just two weeks ago. The procedure would generally cost around $1,800, said Dr. Terri Rosado, who performed the surgery.
“It was the right thing to do,” Rosado said. “Powder’s a national hero; she’s saved lives. And (Smithey) is a national hero. They’ve done more than their part, and I think it’s part of our responsibility to give back to them.”
Rosado took a sample of fat from Powder’s body and, using a kit developed by MediVet, separated adult stem cells from the sample.
These cells are essentially repair cells and, when injected in Powder’s problem areas, will help repair the damage her joints have seen, said Erica Kent, a representative from MediVet.
For Smithey and Powder, the donated therapy changes everything. Their job is a hard one, but at 7 years old, Powder isn’t ready to retire just yet.
There’s no way to pinpoint exactly what caused Powder’s joints to degenerate, Smithey said, but the eight to 10 hours of training rescue dogs bank each week, in addition to the stress of their calls — adds up. He started noticing she had problems about six months after they returned from Haiti.
“Haiti was a place like no other,” Smithey said. “The Haitians didn’t have much before the earthquake, but after, the country was completely destroyed. It was like a war zone.”
Powder’s job was to use her sense of smell to locate people. Her agility also served the team she worked on, because she can more easily explore destroyed buildings.
After returning from Haiti, Smithey and Powder were introduced as special guests by President Barack Obama at a 2010 University of Tampa meeting and recognized for their work.
With the stem cell therapy, Powder will be able to keep doing her job with less risk of harm to her bones. MediVet banked some of the dog’s stem cells Tuesday for future treatments, if necessary.
And Smithey couldn’t be happier. He got Powder when she was around nine months old, and has been training her, working alongside her and living with her ever since.
He’s tried other medical procedures to help Powder. Stem cell therapy looks the most promising, he said, but he couldn’t have shouldered the cost for it on his own.
Rosado has been a vet since 2005 and has worked at several practices around the region. But now, with the Flagler Integrative Veterinary Center, she said she can focus on what she’s most interested in: integrative veterinary medicine.
The center is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. Call 439-2000.
As for Powder, the therapy treatment went well. It should reach its full effect within a month, Rosado said. Soon, she’ll be able to work at close to the same level she once did.
“For dogs like Powder, if they’re given a job, they’ll do whatever it takes to get it done,” Smithey said. “It’s up to us as a handler to keep that under control.”
