I say unoffical because technically I am just pet sitting and thought it would be a good opportunity to do a couple of massages on dogs I didn't really know and in their home. I spent my holiday week with Brixie and Hitcher - two treeing walker coon hounds. Very houndy! You can hear the baying outside the house! Brixie is 3 and Hitcher is 9. I was able to convince them that massages were great just after a few minutes. For Brixie I wanted to focus on her anxiety. When she's is worried she mouths Hitcher's ears until they are a slobbery mess! So I turned her away with some nice anxiety reducing rocking and calming strokes. Hitcher got some attention on his hips and shoulders and tummy area si
In our wonderful state, an animal massage practitioner must be licensed by the state's Deptartment of Health. Luckily I have my great and wonderful mentor, Lorna from the Animal Wellness Connection to help me navigate these hoops. Firstly, your license renews on your birthday, so it worked out for me to get mine at that time. I also had to take a test from the state about the legalities and a HIV/AIDS class. WHEW! I am finally finished with all the tests, forms, fees and such - yeah! Get in touch so I can put all this into play!
In Washington, to do small animal massage you must be certified by a governing board and licensed through the Department of Health. The test is three hours long and I got to take it at my local library. You'd think this would be a good, quiet place to take a test. Turns out, not so much. The computer area is full of people online, listening to VERY loud music, and for the case of my test day - a hummer. This gal sat and surfed and hummed for two hours! Add to that the people walking around and it was just a tad distracting. But I finished and I passed! Which was surprising a bit since many of the questions were taken from HUMAN massage schools and not just animal - but luckily I have a backg
