PetMassage practices can grow in many directions
We are always interested in the progress of our students. Please indulge me as I share an email that we just received. It describes how she is applying the information from our workshops in veterinary context and also – and this is exciting— how learning PetMassage is still functioning as a pathway to another career! I’m hoping, along with this graduate, Susan K. Miller, who wrote it that this can encourage other potential class participants. She writes,
“I thought I’d bring you up-to-date on the miraculous turns of events that are propelling my massage practice forward.
“The brilliant holistic vet for whom I do laser therapy had an unfortunate (for her) situation several weeks ago – her upper back/neck became horribly sore . . . to a point where she couldn’t do her Chinese massage, laser therapy – nothing at all with the larger dogs. She was diagnosed with arthritis in her upper spine. This meant she had to completely re-work how her business operated.
“She began training me on the Chinese deep tissue massage (Tui-na) that she uses on her patients. I’m learning the terms: yao-fa, tui-fa, etc. Pretty cool, as I love languages!
“Much of the Chinese stuff is what you taught us; it just has specific terms . . . I’ve also learned her “rou-fa,” deep massage with the palms to warm-up the tissues, then how to do slow, deep pressure between each vertebrae to find trigger points (the skin jumps, and the owners can SEE that) . . . they become sold on the massage once I’m able to relieve the twitching. I’m working on learning her sacral release technique, which relieves multiple issues in the lumbar region. She had a dear friend who recently passed who was one of a handful of people who did intense chiropractic techniques on pets . . . she learned much of his magic and will, eventually, pass along some of that to me.
“I say all this to give encouragement to potential new massage practitioners – you never know what the future holds and where you may be led. If I hadn’t taken your courses, I would never have been considered for taking over Dr. Rosado’s massage patients. As it’s turning out, I’m netting what I made when I worked at the Lower Keys Chamber, with a lot fewer hours and a much more enjoyable work situation. I deal with upscale, lovely people and very well cared-for dogs (and a couple cats!).
“Funny how things work out – it took some patience and persistence, but I’ve found myself in a great spot. I hope others may enjoy the same good fortune.”
In a follow up email, Susan went on to say
“I’ve been massaging Nina, a female GSD mix, off and on for several months. With Dr. Rosado’s turning over her massages to me, I’ve been seeing her weekly, as she has multiple systemic issues. I’ve incorporated Dr. Terri’s techniques into the massage you’ve taught: I do the vectoring, I do the grounding, then move on to the Dr.’s specific instructions. Realizing that everything is connected, I not only do what Dr. R instructs, but I do a total body massage that includes rou-fa (deep kneading with the palms) and ROM on all limbs, as well as a lot of other techniques on various body parts – much of what you taught, with Chinese names!
“During her last massage, I noticed a knot on each of Nina’s thighs. I asked Dr. R to take a look at them the next time she saw Nina (she does acupuncture weekly), as I thought there might be some muscular issues. She replied to me, thanking me for calling her attention to the problem and said Nina has lymphoma. I asked how long she’d known about that, and she said she did NOT know about it until I brought up the knots . . . they’re lymph nodes that indicated the lymphoma – she said she wouldn’t have caught it until her next annual exam. The training you provided – noticing odd things and questioning them – allowed for an earlier diagnosis, so we can treat Nina and make her comfortable for as long as she has.
“Your courses are groundbreaking – the information you provide is life-changing for these dogs. I’ve been so thankful to have taken your instruction – and to have your weekly e-blasts, videos, etc.
“Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to help our pets!”
Thank you, Susan.