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Growing Pains

Setting up an animal massage practice isn’t straightforward, however. In terms of acceptance from the medical community, awareness of its benefits and the creation of national standards, “animal massage at this point is where human massage was 15 years ago,” says Gagnon. Her goal is to work with other schools and organizations on this issue to set standards for animal massage.

“If we can get some standards, the states will be more willing to allow it or do something with either certification or licensing.”

Currently, licensure is the jurisdiction of the states, usually incorporated into the state’s veterinarian practice law. What therapists are allowed to do varies widely from state to state. In Illinois, which is considered by many to have the model law, owners only need to sign a consent form allowing animal massage therapists to work with their animals just as an owner would do with a veterinarian. In other places, such as Maine, massage is restricted to the practice of veterinarians or vet technicians.

Generally speaking, the veterinarian community has not been as helpful as it could be in this matter. When Bregenzer began his practice in 1998, he thought the best approach would be to offer his services to local vets.

“I really like the idea of working with vets. I think that’s the way to go because they are the ones who see the injuries, the surgeries, the animals who are getting older,” he says. But Bregenzer was disappointed and confused by the often negative responses to his calls. “We don’t compete with them,” he says. “I think we complement each other.”

In 2003, the American Veterinarian Medical Association adopted an updated model veterinarian practice act that for the first time brought “complementary, alternative and integrative therapies” for animals under the umbrella of veterinarian medicine. The model act is meant to guide lawmakers when preparing or revising a state’s vet practice law.

If adopted whole cloth, only a licensed veterinarian or someone under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian could legally provide animal massage - much like saying only a medical doctor could provide massage to humans.

“There is a real drive in the United States for the veterinary community to say [animal massage] is vet medicine even though it’s health and wellness,” says Patricia Whalen-Shaw, founder and president of Integrated Touch Therapy, an animal training facility located in Circleville, Ohio.

However, Whalen-Shaw does believe there is a need for minimum training requirements. “Basic standards should be set up,” she says. “If you don’t have a basic understanding of what muscles do and how they function, then you can’t understand how you can effectively work on them.”

The problem is that no one is working together, says Gagnon. “I think we all need to get together and come up with something” rather than each school or organization trying to forge ahead on its own.

Despite the professional growing pains, people are drawn to animal massage because it is emotionally satisfying and powerful work. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see a person so excited that his or her beloved companion is not in pain anymore,” Whalen-Shaw says.

For human therapists, animal massage can enhance their human practice, particularly in the areas of observation and manual assessment. Working with animals means relying heavily on what a therapist sees and hears and feels, which can sharpen the senses and heighten perception. “You really have to listen to them. You have to be 100 percent present, even more so than with humans,” Whalen-Shaw says. “Animals do require single mindedness.”

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