Scientific advances in medicine are happening more frequently—and with more powerful results—than perhaps they ever have in our lifetimes. And this isn’t just true for humans. For our pets, veterinary medicine has also adopted cutting-edge technologies that can improve longevity and wellness for our four-legged friends. In Westport, Spot On Vet is offering many of these new treatments and therapies with the goal not just of extending an animal’s life, but of giving them healthier, more comfortable years, too. In honor of our Thankful issue, Spot On introduced Westport Lifestyle to three local pets who have had transformative quality-of-life changes thanks to these incredible new technologies.
Izzy’s Story
The problem: Izzy is a Westport dog whose owners noticed that she was limping on her left front leg after playing. “Izzy was visibly struggling with everyday mobility and comfort,” explains her owner, Jessica. “Her front legs carried a subtle or sometimes pronounced limp that became noticeably worse after any activity. Because of the pain, she began actively avoiding movement: she could no longer go on walks, play with other dogs, or attend puppy daycare. Her appetite was noticeably off, and she hesitated or flatly refused to jump up onto the couch, her bed, into the car, or tackle the stairs that she used to navigate with ease.” They initially thought she had injured her shoulder. She remained active, but the limp continued, despite treatment with an anti-inflammatory pain medication.
Further evaluation and X-rays showed that the problem appeared to be in her elbows rather than her shoulder. The suspected diagnosis was fragmented coronoid process, an elbow condition that can cause joint damage, pain, and arthritis.
The treatment: Izzy initially received PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, which is prepared from a patient’s own blood. The blood is processed to concentrate platelets and natural signaling substances that may help reduce inflammation and support healing.
Unfortunately for Izzy, she was still limping after her PRP, so she then received stem-cell therapy. A small amount of fatty tissue was surgically collected from her abdomen and used to prepare her own stem cells, which can then be injected into affected joints or other treatment sites. (PRP and stem-cell therapy are often combined like this as part of a larger orthopedic treatment plan.)
The cells were injected into Izzy’s affected joints in January 2025 under the supervision of Spot On’s Dr. Alistair Chapnick. At her next documented visit in February, her owners reported that she was doing great. “We saw her natural playfulness return,” says Jessica. “Seeing her move without pain and take off running at full speed again has brought a huge sense of relief, giving Izzy back a normal life and allowing us to worry less about her health.” The current recommendation is for periodic reassessment and approximately annual repeat treatment as part of the ongoing management of her elbow disease.
Who else might benefit: Stem-cell therapy is most commonly used in veterinary medicine for arthritis, joint injuries, and other orthopedic conditions, but regenerative medicine is also being explored for a wider range of inflammatory, immune-related, and degenerative diseases. It may be worth discussing when conventional treatment is not providing enough relief, when long-term medication is difficult for the patient, or when a family is looking for additional options as part of a broader treatment plan.
Stem cells can also be collected and banked proactively while a pet is younger and healthy, sometimes during another planned procedure when the pet is already under anesthesia. Those cells are preserved for that individual animal and may be available later in life if a condition develops for which regenerative therapy is appropriate.
Benjamin’s Story
The problem: Benjamin was a six-year-old Labrador Retriever whom Spot On’s Dr. Philip Putter had known since he was eight weeks old. He had severe orthopedic disease at an unusually young age, including hip dysplasia, arthritis affecting his hips, knees, and spine, and early spinal disc disease. His family pursued nearly every option available, including anti-inflammatory and pain medications, gabapentin, acupuncture, supplements, integrative care, and stem-cell therapy. Some treatments helped, but his mobility continued to deteriorate. His family eventually moved, in part, to give him a home with fewer stairs.
The treatment: After Benjamin had tried an extensive range of conventional and integrative treatments, he received SeneX therapy. Spot On is currently the only veterinary site able to administer this investigational gene therapy. For more than a decade, Dr. Putter and Spot On have collaborated with Mount Sinai embryologist Dr. Efrat “Effy” Eliyahu on research involving SeneX, which is a gene therapy for osteoarthritis and other diseases associated with chronic inflammation.
In simple terms, aging or stressed cells can accumulate too much of a fatty substance called ceramide. When that happens, some cells stop functioning normally and begin releasing signals that contribute to ongoing inflammation and tissue damage.
The SeneX treatment uses an engineered virus as a delivery vehicle to carry a therapeutic gene into the affected tissue. That gene helps the cells produce more of a naturally occurring protein called acid ceramidase, which helps control ceramide levels. The goal is to help the cells function more normally and interrupt the cycle of chronic inflammation.
This is gene therapy, but it is not gene editing. It delivers a therapeutic gene to selected tissue rather than rewriting the animal’s existing genetic code. In Benjamin’s case, he was given four injections targeting his hips and knees.
Within two days, Benjamin appeared to have less pain, walked more easily, and was able to climb stairs. After two months, he was reportedly running, jumping, and using stairs.
Dr. Putter also remembers arriving for a follow-up house call several weeks after treatment. Benjamin’s owner had deliberately avoided telling him how much had changed, because she wanted him to witness it himself! Benjamin ran to greet him, jumped up with enough enthusiasm to knock the medical equipment from his hands, and then raced across the property after a gardener he loved.
For a veterinarian who had watched Benjamin struggle and had known him since puppyhood, the moment was unforgettable.
Who else might benefit: Because the treatment is investigational, it is not offered as a routine arthritis therapy. Every potential patient must be evaluated individually. The most likely candidates are dogs with clearly documented osteoarthritis and substantial pain or mobility limitations despite appropriate conventional treatment. The research team must review the dog’s diagnosis, medical history, previous treatments, overall health, and available imaging. Owners interested in learning whether their dog might qualify can request an investigational gene-therapy evaluation with Dr. Putter at Spot On and learn more at senextx.com
Peanut’s Story
The problem: Peanut is Dr. Putter’s own small dog. As a young dog, she developed months of gastrointestinal illness and repeated episodes of pancreatitis. Because she belongs to a veterinarian, Peanut has access to extensive testing and treatment. Her family investigated parasites, Giardia, bacterial abnormalities, pancreatic disease, and other common causes. Whenever something abnormal was identified, it was treated, but Peanut kept getting sick.
That led to a different question: Why did the problem keep returning?
Advanced gastrointestinal and nutritional testing identified abnormalities that could be addressed and also raised concern about Peanut’s intestinal microbiome. The intestinal microbiome is the community of bacteria and other microorganisms that normally live within the gastrointestinal tract. These organisms play important roles in digestion, nutrient absorption, and immune function.
Dysbiosis means that this community has become significantly imbalanced. Advanced microbiome testing can help characterize that imbalance in selected patients with persistent or recurrent gastrointestinal disease.
The treatment: This is not simply a matter of choosing a generic probiotic. The purpose of testing is to better understand what may be abnormal in that particular patient before deciding how to address it.
Instead of continuing to try nonspecific medications and supplements, the results allowed Peanut’s treatment to become more individualized. Her plan included addressing her nutritional needs and using a selected fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), intended to introduce a healthier community of intestinal microorganisms.
Peanut’s gastrointestinal problems improved dramatically. She began eating, gained strength, and started acting like herself again.
Who else might benefit: Advanced gastrointestinal or microbiome testing may be worth discussing for dogs with persistent or recurrent gastrointestinal flare-ups that continue despite appropriate initial testing and treatment.
It may also be useful for selected dogs that repeatedly cycle through medications, antibiotics, probiotics, or diet changes without a clear explanation for why their symptoms keep returning.
Microbiome testing is not necessary for every isolated episode of vomiting or diarrhea. It does not replace a physical examination, routine fecal testing, bloodwork, pancreatic testing, imaging, dietary evaluation, or intestinal biopsy when those are indicated.
The bottom line: You do not need to know which test or treatment your animal needs before making an appointment. You can begin by scheduling an exam and describing what has changed.Routine examinations can reveal subtle pain, weight changes, a new heart murmur, a mass, or early evidence of disease before a pet appears seriously ill. Dental disease can cause considerable daily pain while remaining easy for owners to miss. Screening blood and urine tests can establish a pet’s normal baseline and identify meaningful changes over time.
Animals cannot tell us that climbing the stairs has become difficult, that chewing hurts, or that they have gradually stopped feeling like themselves. Often, the earliest clues are small changes in movement, appetite, digestion, sleep, behavior, or energy. At Spot On, longevity medicine is ultimately about healthspan: preserving the years when a pet can move comfortably, eat normally, play, engage with the family, and enjoy being themselves
An advanced treatment may be appropriate for one patient. For another, the most important longevity treatment may be the careful examination that discovers a problem while the family still has more options.
You do not need to know which treatment your pet needs before scheduling. To make an appointment with Spot On Vet to review your pet’s history, symptoms, previous treatments, and goals, visit spotonvet.com or call (203) 303-9933.
Veterinary medicine has adopted cutting-edge technologies that can improve longevity and wellness for our four-legged friends.