Our Commitment

To Improve and enhance the quality of life and wellbeing of our companion animals by developing mobility and fitness products that are simple to use, readily accepted by companion animals, cost-effective for pet parents, and that offer new and innovative therapeutic options for veterinarians and rehabilitation specialists.

Meet People Behind The Biko PR Bands

A Visionary

In 2004, Thomas Hödl’s German Shepherd Dog, “Biko”, was diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy, a progressive disease of the spinal cord that begins with mild hind limb weakness, ataxia, and knuckling under and gradually moves up the spinal cord.

Thomas, an exercise physiologist, athletic instructor, and athlete, living in Vienna, Austria, developed the idea for an elastic resistance mobility brace to help Biko stabilize his hind limbs. Working with his veterinarian, the first prototype of the mobility brace for Biko was developed.  Enthused by the progress Biko was making, Thomas decided to market his brace to veterinarians.

The Biko Mobility Brace was the precursor to the Biko Progressive Resistance (PR) Bands.

 

An Entrepreneurial Force

Annie Janis is founder and Chief Innovation Officer of AniMotion Products, LLC (the company that pioneered the first and only progressive elastic resistance product available to veterinary medicine). With a Master’s Degree in clinical psychology and organizational development, Annie earned her reputation in new and emerging technologies while living in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2000, Annie moved to North Carolina with Tanana, her beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback. Tanana, who was 12-years-old at the time, suffered from IVDD and Annie began searching for therapeutic options to improve and maintain Tanana’s mobility and quality of life. At that time, physical therapy and rehabilitation did not exist as a therapeutic option in veterinary medicine.

In 2003, she and Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little, a renowned orthopedic surgeon and pioneer in canine physiotherapy and rehabilitation, cofounded the Animal Rehabilitation and Wellness Institute, PLLC, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Their clinic was one of the first of three canine rehabilitation facilities in the country and one of the first to offer physical therapy and rehabilitation internships to veterinarians and physical therapists who were becoming certified as Canine Rehabilitation Practitioners/Therapists (CCRP/CCRT).

In 2004, Thomas Hödl came to Raleigh to offer Annie and Denis the sole distributorship in North America for his Biko Mobility Brace. Thus, began the collaboration between Annie and Thomas. Their efforts led to the development of the Biko Progressive Resistance (PR) Bands. Today, more than 100,000 dogs suffering from neurologic or orthopedic conditions have benefitted from their collaboration. And more and more, the Bands are being used for performance and working dogs for conditioning, fitness, injury prevention and rehabilitation of dogs with sports-related injuries.

What was once considered “alternative veterinary medicine” is now a board certified discipline: Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.

 

A Passion for Canine Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine

Dr. Jennell Appel is Chief Veterinary Consultant for Animotion Products, LLC. Dr. Appel earned her DVM from St. George’s University College of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada in 2008. She completed her clinical rotations, specializing in canine rehabilitation, at the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine and in 2009, earned her certification as a Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT) from the Canine Rehabilitation Institute in Florida.

Dr. Appel specializes in postoperative rehabilitation, sports medicine, athletic conditioning and injury prevention. Being a former athlete, she personally experienced how beneficial physical therapy is to overall health. She understands that her patients need to be in top condition to perform at their highest level as athletes and working dogs. When injured and they cannot work, it affects them both physically and mentally. “I can see the depression in their faces.”

Dr. Appel is a passionate advocate of veterinary rehabilitation and sports medicine education, and regularly speaks at canine athletic seminars regarding injury prevention and conditioning.

In 2013, Dr. Appel founded SportVet Canine Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Mobile Clinic. She travels throughout the Southeast, attending field trials, hunt tests, lure coursing events and agility trials, treating canine athletes in the field.