Getting a leg up

The business of handicapped pet care is booming, as more Americans turn to specialized shops and services to extend the lives of their injured companions.

“We’ve seen 100 percent to 200 percent of growth a year, even in a tough economy,” said Mark Robinson, founder of HandicappedPets.com, which generated $2 million in 2011, up 35 percent from 2010.

Robinson’s animal-oriented inventory of 250 pet products include tiny wheelchairs, diapers, orthotics, leg splints, seat belts, ramps and more. Last year, HandicappedPets.com shipped tens of thousands of items to customers in more than 22 countries, Robinson said.

Though business has exploded in recent years, the pet paralysis industry has been on the rise since the early 1970s, said Dr. Lincoln Parkes, inventor of one of the first pet wheelchairs.

“I guess the No. 1 reason for such expansion of the industry is that the age of animals is getting longer and longer,” said Parkes, owner of K-9 Carts Company East, which makes custom-built carts for dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, sheep, goats and other animals. His devices range from about $300 to $825.

“These are members of their family,” Parkes said. “If you have money, you can do anything.”

Parkes’ competitors in the pet wheelchair market include Canine Wheels, which has seen sales surge by 50 percent since 2010, and Eddie’s Wheels, which has experienced a 40 percent bump since 2008.

Owners of incapacitated animals can also spend thousands of dollars on medications, MRIs, prosthetic limbs and blood transfusions.

Then there’s the world of disabled pet day care, physical therapy and even the Japanese healing art of Reiki.

All Paws Dog Day Care in Fountain Valley, Calif., for example, charges $35 to $100 a day (depending on the level of care) to babysit disabled pets, as well as those with dementia, seizure disorders, diabetes and other ailments.

Practitioners from California Animal Massage visit All Paws twice a week to offer therapeutic massage, acupressure and Reiki for an additional $40 an hour.

“I realized there needs to be a special place for these kinds of dogs and cats and bunnies and, you know, whatever. I once treated a hedgehog that received radiation for cancer,” said Dr. Tara Haddad, owner of All Paws.

Haddad said business has been so good that she recently opened a second location in Newport Beach.

Though these services sound extreme, pet lovers like Connie Rouse — owner of a paralyzed, diaper-wearing poodle-bichon mix named Jack-Jack — call them life-changing.

“I never traveled without taking him along with me until I found All Paws,” said Rouse, who lives in Lakewood, Calif., works in human resources and helps run Fuzzy Pet Rescue, a southern California animal mission.

“I saw what a great job [Haddad] did with all the disabled animals and knew I could go away and not worry about the diapers, etc.,” she said.

Pet physical therapy centers like Two Hands Four Paws in Los Angeles help animals regain strength. Therapists offer swimming exercises, laser therapy and an underwater treadmill class for $100 a session, lasting a little under an hour. The initial consultation is $240.

“We try to help as many kinds of animals as we can,” said Bryan McMahon, Two Hands Four Paws’ co-owner, who said the business has grown 15 to 20 percent per year since it opened 10 years ago. McMahon estimates his company treats about 100 animals each week.

HandicappedPets.com’s Robinson said he sees no limits to the impaired animal care industry’s rise, and that he is proud to be a part of it.

“It’s about family — these pets are a part of the family,” he said.