Massage
Different strokes help our four-legged
folks
by
Ali Pedalino
 |
| Beau, an 11-year-old
chihauha/ beagle mix who lost a leg
as a puppy, soaks up his massage from
Lynne Flanagan. |
After twenty-five
years at a corporate job, Lynne Flanagan
was the epitome of the status quo. She
had a fine career in corporate training
and business communications, and was collecting
a respectable salary and good benefits.
She wasn’t entirely charmed by her
longevity in a career that she’d
planned for the short-term, but practicality
told her to stay where she was.
Then in 2000, everything changed. The
company Flanagan worked for merged with
another, and she was offered a separation
package. Freed from the corporate world,
Flanagan jumped at the chance of a mid-life
career change and decided to follow her
dream to work with animals. Over the next
four years, she obtained certification
as an animal massage therapist from PetMassage
Institute in Toledo, Ohio, and started
her own business, Paws That Matter. Since
then, she has been helping countless animals
throughout the suburbs of Boston. As the
popularity of pet massage grows, Flanagan
and others like her are increasingly passionate
about the field’s expanded presence
and healing potential.
A few years ago, pet massage was virtually
unheard of. It was considered extravagant
at best, designed only for the occasional
pampered pooch or kitty. PetMassage Institute’s
founder and director, Jonathan Rudinger,
says that though the idea was slow to
catch on at first, he has since seen a
dramatic rise in the interest and respect
that the institute — and pet massage
in general — has garnered since
PetMassage’s inception in 1998.
“Our influence is growing,”
he says. “People don’t point
at us and giggle anymore.” Rudinger
compares the initial five or six weekly
hits on his website to the current count
of 1,600, and attributes the growth to
an enhanced interest in alternative treatments.
“More people have become convinced
that drugs or surgery are not always the
answer,” agrees Dee Schreiber of
Equissage, an equine and canine massage
institute in Round Hill, Virginia. Since
1989, over 7,500 people have graduated
from their week-long intensive curriculum,
which generally requires a three-month
advance booking. They now offer a home
study certification program in concert
with instructional videotapes.
Flanagan also has noticed greater acceptance
and interest from the public. “At
first, reactions ranged from blank stares
to comments that massage for animals was
wasteful,” she says. “There
was only a small group that instantly
understood and said how great it was.”
Today, a more captivated audience inquires
about her business, and e-mails pour in
from across the country asking for advice
on how to get started.
While studying at PetMassage, Flanagan
was required to attend several workshops,
complete take-home tests, and perform
massages. Although she says the program
granted a solid foundation upon which
to further study, she warns that technique
alone will not suffice. “You need
to understand how animals think and interpret
your behaviors,” she says. “You
also need to be aware of any health conditions,
so some medical familiarity is important.
The learning process is ongoing and really
fascinating.”
Massage is especially important when you
consider the shortcomings of some of today’s
medical technologies. Schreiber points
out that X-ray machines are incapable
of detecting muscular disorders, inhibiting
the chances for a correct diagnosis. “Most
muscle problems will go undiagnosed by
a veterinarian,” he says. “If
a horse has a limp, for example, the problem
won’t show up on X-rays.”
One of the advantages of massage is that
you don’t need to train and study
extensively to learn and apply the basics
to your animal. If you don’t have
time for week-long workshops, instructional
videos such as Pet Your Pet Massage from
TV therapist Christine Sutherland, are
helpful starting points that introduce
you to the basics and lead the way to
more advanced instruction.
Massage can be administered in a number
of ways, depending on the patient’s
condition. Based on her experiences, Flanagan
has developed a sequence of four traditional
massage techniques: Swedish (long stroke),
Shiatsu (pressure point), T-Touch (circular
motion), and Petrissage (kneading). While
working, she speaks to the animals and
plays soothing music. “It’s
been scientifically validated that animals
respond to classical music,” she
notes, adding that communication is key
to a successful therapy session. “When
you have an animal you can’t communicate
with or relate to, that animal is not
going to relax. That defeats the purpose
of what massage is all about.”
Next
Page >
Published in
the February/March 2004 issue of Animal
Wellness
|
