Upcoming Massage Events for Lively Dog & Friends
Posted by lisa on Jul 10, 2010
Bancroft School of Massage Therapy is having its Animal Program Open House on Saturday, July 24 from 4-5pm. Come meet me and Marlene, the founder of the program, and see a massage class in action. RSVP, please.
Cabela’s Dogs Days of Summer event in East Hartford, CT. July 24 (9am-4pm) and July 25 (10am to 4pm). My fellow BSMT graduate, Erica Dwyer, will be massaging on Saturday and I will be there on Sunday. It looks to be lots of fun. We’d love to see you and your dog!
Becky Therian, my old Anatomy instructor at BSMT, is giving an Intro to Canine Massage workshop at DoggoneU. It’s a nice first taste of Animal Massage.
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Help to pass dog devocalization bill Mass H 344
Posted by lisa on Jul 8, 2009
- A complications of devocalization surgery
A request from Shirley Moore of Save A Dog rescue:
We’re in the 11th hour: Now’s the time to protect dogs and cats from having their vocal cords cut for profit and convenience. In a few weeks, it could be too late.
An Act Prohibiting Devocalization, H.344, will be heard July 14 and could be decided by the 31st. If we don’t generate significant phone calls from constituents to legislators on the Judiciary Committee–breeders and vets who oppose the bill are–this humane legislation will be killed, leaving dogs and cats unprotected.
This is an unfunded, all-volunteer, grassroots effort. It is up to each and
every one of us to get the word out. Please don’t let the animals down.
We’re all they have.Devocalization is Brutalization.
Use Your Voice to Pass House Bill 344!
A good analysis of the bill and it’s issues can be found here:
http://www.willbrownsberger.com/index.php/archives/1766
The comments on this page include both sides.
What you can do:
Download this pdf for more information on what you can do. I’ll post the contact info for members of the Judiciary committe in the comments.
Let’s speak for the dogs so they can continue to speak for themselves.
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After long silence…
Posted by lisa on Apr 21, 2009
I am finally back. I’ve made a few changes (as if quitting your business job to work on dogs isn’t enough!) that will hopefully allow me to keep up with my blogging obligations.
Our new backyard
I moved to CT, where the dog massage logs are coherent. A little house on a lake, where the pups can swim and we can hear ourselves think. A ranch, which I thought was important to have for Fergus as he ages.
I live close enough to maintain my practice in Metrowest Boston.
And I took some time off from pet sitting, dog daycare and dog walking ( an enjoyable way to pay the bills, but even more time-consuming than my old office job) to get Lively Dog’s house in order, which I couldn’t find the time to do, as I get my little lake house in order. And part of that is blogging.
So, please stay tuned… upcoming posts include Facilitated Movement (TM), a new modality combining massage, energy, cranio-sacral, myofascial release, and Brain Therapy (TM). I’m learning it from its creator, Theresa Gagnon, and I’ve done some pretty cool things with it. Also upcoming massage workshops I’m giving, my foray into horse massage, and I’ve tried a few new behavior mod products that I want to share with you.
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I rescued a human today.
Posted by lisa on Nov 19, 2008
This is at least a year old, but is making the rounds again so I thought I’d share it with you.
I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.
I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.
I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn’t be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.
I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t been walked today.
Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn’t feel sad about my past.
I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.
I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.
I would promise to keep her safe.
I would promise to always be by her side.
I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.
So many more are out there who haven’t walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.
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Save A Dog Shelter Contest update
Posted by lisa on Oct 9, 2008
Thank you! Save A Dog is now 99th in the nation, 3rd in the state! I heard, but don’t know for sure, that there is a prize for keeping the #1 in the state position for a week. See yesterday’s post for how to help by voting for Save A Dog.
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Wake Up Call
Posted by lisa on Oct 5, 2008
One of my wonderful commenters just reminded me I hadn’t posted in an age. Everything is good; I was just overwhelmed with working full time, finishing school and my internship, and doing my case study. And this Monday, I graduated! I’m now a Certified Small Animal Massage Therapist.
There is a writeup of my case study (the lovely Strider) in the words of his owner on my business site. I’ve been having a lot of luck lately with using massage and Reiki to help behavioral problems. I’ll write more on that later. Now that I’m done with school and am going to make a go of this business, I will be a more faithful blogger.
Thanks for reading!
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On Vacation
Posted by lisa on Jul 9, 2008
Sneaking out for a bit of rest at Cozy Cove Cabins in Jackman, Maine. Fergus has been there but it’s the first time for Smitty. If you visit the site and scroll all the way down you’ll see their Golden, Murphy. She’s a lovely dog and Fergus liked to play with her.
We will hike, canoe, read, swim, and lounge. Our goal for the week is to see Smitty swim for the joy of it rather than just to save his life. He’s a bit of a dufus so I made sure to teach him to swim even though he thought I was an evil crazy person. It came in handy when he fell out of the canoe, and when he mistook pollen on the river for solid ground and jumped off the two foot bank. Sigh.
I will also review my anatomy for my upcoming internship. And learn bird and lizard anatomy, since this vet specializes in exotics. I don’t know if I’ll get to massage an exotic pet, but I hope so.
I won’t have reliable net access in the North Woods, so this may be the last post until the 18th. I will be able to receive phone and email, though. Have a good week!
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Changing careers
Posted by lisa on Jun 11, 2008
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
attributed to Mark Twain
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Welcome!
Posted by lisa on Jun 2, 2008
Welcome! This blog is about my exploration of Reiki healing, and my journey to become a small animal massage practitioner. I hope this is useful to other people considering this as a career. Please comment on the posts, or contact me if you want to share your own experiences in a post!
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