The Health Diva

When Jess began struggling to jump up into the back of the car, owner Ann Crearie recognised the symptoms of arthritis in her 6-year-old Border Collie. “I have always had dogs and as they get older, they often suffer with stiff joints, especially the bigger dogs,” explains Ann.

As a natural medicine enthusiast, Ann takes a multivitamin and various herbals herself, so it was off to her local health food store for advice when Jess began to slow down. “The store recommended a special gentle form of vitamin C, called Viridian Ester-C, for Jess, which comes in a capsule. I just open two capsules and add them to her food each day.”

Although dogs have been shown to manufacture their own vitamin C in large quantities, some practitioners speculate that dogs – particularly older ones – do not always manufacture optimal levels of vitamin C and that lower tissue levels of vitamin C may exacerbate chronic joint inflammation and muscle stiffness.

Dr. Geir Erik Berge, a veterinarian in Oslo, Norway, gave 100 disabled dogs 30 mg/kg of Ester-C three times daily for six months. To qualify for the study, a dog had to have one of the following chronic conditions involving the joints and connective tissue: severe joint injury, arthrosis, spondylosis, hip dysplasia, older disc–prolapse, muscle atrophy as a result of functional loss, or senile wear–and–tear in support and motion systems. After one week of treatment with Ester-C, some 75 per cent of the ailing dogs showed dramatic improvement in their conditions.

Further studies on dogs and horses have confirmed that Ester-C is helpful in both arthritis and other joint pain and inflammation problems.

“Jess is now jumping around like a much younger dog,” says Ann. “The Ester-C has given her a real spring in her step!”