CHEAT LAKE -- The stem cell treatment developed in 2002 traditionally requires veterinary clinics to send the tissue away to a lab for processing but now the processing can be done in house. They say its more effective, takes only one day and is cheaper. The new in-clinic stem cell therapy was performed on a dog and a cat Friday at Cheat Lake Animal Hospital by Dr. Jesse Fallon and Dr. Heidi Heller. The 8-year-old Jack Russell Terrier named Banner is recovering from cruciate ligament surgery.

“The surgery he had is called the Tibial Tuberosity Advancement and he's actually doing quite well post operatively but his owner wants to give him every opportunity to achieve full healing,” said Dr. Fallon.

The thirteen-year-old cat Brother Funk suffers from arthritis in multiple joints.

"In Brothers case it’s pretty severe arthritis so we're hoping this stem cell therapy will help relieve some of his pain, reduce some inflammation and improve his overall quality of life."

The vets sedate the animals, remove cells, harvest them and return them.

The inventor MediVet-America says the technology uses the body's own regenerative healing power.

“We've invented the process where we break down the fat tissue and basically get the stem cells from the fat,” said Rebecca Courtad, MediVet-America.

“And then we harvest them and activate them with a special LED light that we have and what that does is just multiples the cells. And so when we’re able to inject them into the animal, we’re able to get a huge cell count which gives them the opportunity to heal and we're just seeing tremendous results from that,” she said.

"Adult stem cell therapy is relatively new with regard to the long term studies so we’re still in the clinical trial basis to determine how effective this is but in terms of our patient were trying to provide every opportunity for optimal healing,” said Fallon.

He says the stem cell technology doesn't replace any traditional medical or surgical techniques but it gives animals another opportunity to return to full function.