For dog owners, lov
starts with a massage

By Chris Fyall

For the Beacon

April Seegert watched her 10-year-old cocker spaniel Presley eye the 90-degree water at Edmonds’s SplashDog Spa, and she knew he was nervous.

Her other dog, a 4-year-old Jack Russell terrier named Cooper, loves SplashDog’s pool.

Presley, who has been taking weekly massages and therapy sessions at SplashDog for almost two years to treat a partial ACL tear, does not.

“Cooper dives right in,” she said.  “As soon as we pull up outside, and he knows he’s here, he goes ballistic.  Presley? Well. I guess he does OK.”

SplashDog’s lead therapist Debbie La Monica coaxed Presley into the 20-foot pool. Soon, as La Monica worked Presley’s muscles, he was calm and relaxed and content. Seegert was delighted.

Owners like April Seegert, who lives on Camano Island, come from all around the Puget Sound to SplashDog, where they can help their dog rehabilitate after surgery, exercise old joint injuries, work off excess weight, or simply pamper them with relaxing massages.

They are at the forefront of an animal therapy revolution that – with the passage of the nation’s most permissive animal massage laws last month – is finding solid footing in Washington state.

Like most states, animal massage therapists in Washington have been required to obtain expensive – and not necessarily applicable – human massage licenses before they can work on animals.

But Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill last month eliminating that requirement. Now, animal massage therapists need only undergo 300 hours of animal-specific education.

The law is excellent news for canine water therapy spas, experts say.

“Slowly, people are starting to see the magic in the work,” said Cindy Horsfall, president of the Seattle-based Association of Canine Water Therapy. “It is a very, very exciting time for us.”

Veterinarians have advocated water therapy for dogs for decades, but the advent of specialty spas is relatively new.  In the higher stakes world of horse racing, spas have been more common.

Now, though, dog owners are increasingly willing to bear the costs of therapy for their best friends.

In the past three years, ACWT has grown from a few members in the Seattle area, to an organization with over 100 members from across the U.S. and the world.

 “Saying ‘canine water therapy’ is like saying ‘medicine’ – there is so much that can happen and be done,” Horsfall said. “It is a new industry and nobody really knows what to do with it.”

Some veterinarians have embraced the spas, including Larry Remick at the Edmonds Veterinary Hospital, who took one of his own dogs to SplashDog and refers most of his post-surgical animals there.

The primary benefit of the spas is in restoring muscle mass after a surgical operation. “It is an absolutely great thing for the animals. It makes a huge difference in their recovery,” he said.

The profile of rehabilitation spas is growing within the veterinary world. At larger conferences, there’s often discussion about the industry, Remick said.

Some animals rehab for just a few months, but others go weekly for their entire lives just to maintain muscle mass.

“There is definitely a national movement in the direction of spas,” he said. “We will be seeing a lot more of them.”

Business at SplashDog has grown rapidly since Melissa Barran opened it at Firdale Village two years ago. At this point, the operation runs seven days a week and the schedule is full. Another location might be necessary, she said.

Her customers swear by the service.

Joyce Hartzell has been bringing her 10-year-old dog Ruby for about a year, after noticing that Ruby’s combination of bad joints and excess weight was causing mobility problems.

“It has helped Ruby so much,” Hartzell said. “She’s moving around better, she’s lost weight. Therapy has been the best thing we’ve ever done for her.”

That holds true for April Seegert’s dogs, too. Presley has avoided a second ACL surgery because of his rehab at SplashDog, she said.

“A lot of my friends think I’m insane for doing this,” she said. “But it’s been well worth it.

“My dogs are spoiled to pieces,” she admitted. “But, I mean, I’m a dog person.”