POWAY, Calif. -- A company in Poway that spearheaded the use of stem cells to treat injuries in horses now plans to expand the experimental therapy to dogs, it was announced Tuesday.

Vet-Stem Inc., which touts itself as the world leader in veterinary regenerative medicine, said it has successfully treated more than 2,500 horses for tendon and ligament injuries using stem cells.

The company now wants to begin training veterinarians to use the process to treat dogs for osteoarthritis, polyarthritis, tendonitis, desmitis and fractures, Vet-Stem officials said.

The treatment begins when veterinarians collect a sample of the dog's fat, which is then processed to isolate the regenerative cells, which are injected back into the animal, according to Vet-Stem.

One day, the treatments might be used on people.

"Our success in animals is directly translatable to humans and we wish to share our evidence that stem cells are safe and effective," said CEO Robert J. Harman.

Vet-Stem introduced its veterinary stem cell treatment in 2004.