Sasha Foster is a licensed physical therapist and certified canine rehabilitation therapist whose work lives at the intersection of evidence, movement, and compassionate care. She brings more than two decades of clinical and educational experience to the Colorado State University Veterinary Health System, where she has helped shape how rehabilitation is practiced within veterinary medicine.

In short: I help pets move and heal, support the people who care for them, and build systems that make rehabilitation clearer and kinder for everyone involved.

Sasha joined Colorado State University in 2012 with a clear goal: to thoughtfully integrate a human physical therapy model into veterinary care. Over time, that vision became a fully embedded, interdisciplinary rehabilitation service—now recognized nationally as a reference point for collaborative, evidence-based animal rehabilitation.

Within the Orthopedic Medicine and Mobility service, Sasha leads a busy rehabilitation team supporting approximately 100 patient visits each week. The cases range widely—from young puppies navigating developmental conditions like hip dysplasia to patients recovering from complex or emerging surgical procedures where no established rehabilitation roadmap yet exists. In these moments, Sasha draws on her background in human physical therapy, movement science, and canine biomechanics to design individualized plans that are both evidence-informed and responsive to the unique needs of each patient.

At the heart of her work is education. Sasha is deeply committed to translating complex clinical findings into clear, actionable guidance that families can use with confidence at home. Her approach emphasizes gentle handling, functional movement retraining, and sustainable care practices that support not only healing—but the well-being of pets and the people who love them.

Sasha is also an innovator in the field of animal physical therapy. She holds the first method patent in canine rehabilitation for joint-stabilized straight-plane stretching and continues to develop assistive devices and therapeutic tools designed to improve quality of life for pets, their families, and the world they share. Her work bridges human physical therapy research with veterinary medicine, contributing to the growing field of translational rehabilitation science.

As pets receive medical care across critical care, oncology, neurology, internal medicine, and orthopedics, Sasha and her team provide the rehabilitative support that helps patients regain comfort, confidence, and function—so they can return home moving more easily and living more fully.

She is the current President of the American Physical Therapy Association Orthopedic Section Animal Physical Therapy Special Interest Group (APTA Orthopedic APT SIG), the Content Architect for GoGoCharlie The Pet Home Program Solution, founder of Heal Up Pup, and an award winning author.