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Nine months ago, the dog Gizmo didn't have much pep in his step. The nine-year-old Maltese could not put weight on his back leg. His owner, Andrea Ramirez, took him to several veterinarians and got no answers, so she headed back to the Humane Society of New York.

"They took X-rays, they did surgery on him just to make sure what it was, and they couldn't find anything. And so we just took him to Dr. Gladstein," says Ramirez.

Dr. Babette Gladstein is a volunteer vet at the Humane society of New York.

"I decided from the beginning to treat animals alternatively, because I felt as though we got better results more naturally," she says.

Gladstein says few veterinarians use acupuncture, laser therapy and prolotherapy injections to treat their patients, like she does.

The prolotherapy shots are made of dextrose, a form of glucose, which is often used in athletes to help strengthen ligaments and tendons and relieve serious arthritis.

"The animals historically respond very well to these alternative treatments," says Gladstein.

"It just took three sessions and after the three sessions he just put his leg down and he was walking and running around," says Ramirez.

Older dogs sometimes cannot have surgery or anesthesia because of their age and condition. Gladstein says prolotherapy is a great way to help the animals heal and save owners money. She says hip replacement for a dog can cost up to $5,000, while prolotherapy is less than half that cost.

"It's a viable alternative to intrusive surgeries," says Gladstein.

"The work that she does definitely enhances their lives, makes them feel better, helps with their pain and helps get them adopted," says Co-Executive Director Sandra DeFeo of the Humane Society of New York.

Gladstein has helped heal almost two dozen dogs over the course of two years, saving the Humane Society tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses. All of the dogs she has treated have found homes.

"The real home run is when they get adopted and that's such a good feeling," she says.

The doctor prescribes healthy diets for the dogs to help with their physical pains.

"We follow routines that she has prescribed the whole week. We might see her once a week, but we are doing what she asks us to do throughout the week," says DeFeo.

"He is a different dog, just compared to the way he was lifting his leg up, and now he is just running around and being Gizmo," says Ramirez.

So, for helping to heal animals, Dr. Babette Gladstein is the latest New Yorker of the Week. For more information about her work, call 1-212-752-4842 or visit www.humanesocietyny.org.