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Understanding Animal Massage Laws

The International Association of Animal Massage and Bodywork provides a state-by-state overview of animal massage laws on its website, www.iaamb.org/reference/state-laws-2006.html. The list was compiled in 2006, however, and some laws may have already changed. For the most accurate information, it’s best to contact your state’s massage board or department of health about legal requirements in a specific area.

Take Me Out to the Spa

Spas are a booming business these days and people who like to head to the spa for a little R&R also like to bring their pets with them when they can. Is it too far-fetched to think that spas might start offering massage for animals?

“We may see more spa-type services for dogs,” says Theresa Gagnon, director of animal programs at the Bancroft School of Massage Therapy in Massachusetts.

One place that’s ahead of the curve is The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Sarasota, Florida, which launched its “The Privileged Pup” Pet Massage Program in November 2006. Owners choose from one of four massage therapy services for their dog—therapeutic Swedish, full body relaxation, invigorating sports or senior pet. The one-hour massage is performed in the guest’s room by one of the six therapists on staff trained in animal massage. In addition, the session includes a personalized lesson in pet massage for the owner.

Spa Director Darlene Davison created the program after she saw the bene??ts of massage ??rst-hand with her own dog. But guests aren’t asking for the service yet. Instead, Davision and her staff offer the service to guests who have checked in with their pets. “We try to get every animal that comes here a massage,” she says. So far the program works with one to two pets a week.

From Beast of Burden to Pampered Pet

Animal massage, like human massage, has been around for centuries. The Romans, Greeks and Chinese all practiced some form of massage on military horses. But its transformation from simple rubdown to science is relatively new. In the United States, it’s generally agreed that animal massage emerged as a separate field of practice in the 1970s. That’s when Jack Meagher, a physical and massage therapist who pioneered sports massage for humans, applied his techniques to race horses as well as the U.S. Olympic equestrian team. People began to understand that massage could boost performance for animals much in the same way it did for athletes.

From there the practice spread to include competition dogs and cats, and then exploded during the past decade as people began to seek massage for their pets.

That growth follows the trend toward greater animal care in general, explains John Rudinger, president and founder of the school of PetMassage in Toledo, Ohio. “The largest growing industry in the United States is human health care, and the second is animal health care,” he says. That’s because the role of animals in people’s lives has changed. Gone are the days when animals were kept primarily as watchdogs or beasts of burden. Today, pets are more likely to be full-fledged family members and cherished companions.

With this new appreciation comes a desire to help animals live longer and more fully. Advances in veterinary care are already extending the lives of animals. Yet at the same time, their physical condition is now mirroring that of their owners in terms of diet and exercise—lots of fat and sugar coupled with limited activity. As a result, animals are ending up with similar health problems—obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and poor muscle tone. People are seeing their pets get older faster, yet want them to be with them longer. They are demanding better and more specialized care.

In addition to the physical problems is a greater awareness of the emotional, fueled by recent books on animal behavior. “They give credence to the idea that animals think, feel and have emotional problems that can be worked on,” Rudinger says.

Massage is able to address all of these issues, animal massage therapists note. It can help animals maintain a youthful exuberance, essentially keeping them younger longer. And it can aid animals with emotional problems such as separation anxiety and food aggression.

But love for an animal and desire for better care don’t necessarily prompt a person to seek animal massage. It does take “a certain amount of financial ability because they have to pay for a service that is nonmedical,” notes Patricia Whalen-Shaw, founder and president of Integrated Touch Therapy, Circleville, Ohio.

What’s needed, she believes, is a key third factor: personal, positive experience with massage, particularly human massage. “If they personally see the value in massage, if they know about it and have had a good experience themselves with human massage, I think they have a greater tendency to seek massage for their animal,” Whalen-Shaw says.

Getting Started

Wondering where to turn for instruction in animal massage? Look online for schools, instructors, and organizations. Here are three websites to get you started: www.amtil.com (AMTIL,Inc.), www.iaath.com (The International Alliance of Animal Therapy and Healing), and www.iaamb.org (The International Association of Animal Massage and Bodywork).

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