Akron, Ohio — People smile when they hear what Lisa Gould does for a living. Doubters practically grow on trees. All of that changes after she sinks her slender fingers into the musculature of their animals and bathes them in gentle reassurances.
"Come," she beckons Suki, an exquisite Alaskan malamute with a sore right shoulder. Gould places her hands on her chest over her heart and waits for Suki to "get ready" for a massage.
Suki fixes one blue eye and one brown eye on her relatively new friend, recalling the pleasure of their last visit. They share long minutes gazing into each other's eyes. Then Gould, on her knees, buries the tips of her fingers in the fur around Suki's neck. The dog collapses in a relaxed heap, except for her left front paw, which she keeps on Gould.
Animal massage is nothing new, Gould says. The ancient Egyptians, Phoenecians and Greeks massaged their horses, and the earliest books on veterinary medicine included chapters on its use. Equine massage is in wide use today; its effects on smaller, companion animals are being widely explored.
Massage is not a substitute for traditional veterinary care.
"Alternate therapies such as massage are a great idea. Anything to help the animal," says Brian Forsgren, president of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Assn. "But it's important to make sure they are used in conjunction with medical therapy. They are not a panacea for an instant cure."
Ruth First, a spokesperson for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says the agency likes massage's stress-busting qualities.
Other benefits include increased circulation, which promotes rapid healing; enhanced muscle tone and range of motion; and improved flow of synovial fluid in the joints and circulation of the lymphatic system, which hastens the elimination of waste and toxins.
Massage also helps animals recover after surgery and promotes athletic performance and endurance of healthy animals.
Gould is a canine and equine massage therapist, one of 4,000 U.S. and foreign graduates of Equissage, a leading trainer, since 1991. The Akron, Ohio, resident is certified by the International Association of Equine Sports Massage Therapists, and only recently hung up her shingle, in April, as Running Spirit Equine and Canine Massage Therapy.
"This is my dream to do something I love so much and at the same time feel like I'm giving back," she says. "I worked in an office for 10 years and was never as happy as I am now. I never felt like I belonged and switched jobs because they weren't satisfying.
"Then I started soul-searching and praying and wrote in my journal: What is it that I love?" She began putting the pieces together, discovering the school in Virginia along the way.
"It was a spiritual place," she says. "It seemed really me. It was the best experience of my life."
Her experience would anchor her in a wildly growing field that returns 7 million hits in a search for "animal massage" on the Internet. The proliferation of practitioners, videos and books appear to be a testament to its efficacy, but Gould will tell you the results are equal to the satisfaction of the next pet.
Take Tootsie, for example, Kathleen Varga's llama. Tootsie picked up a meningeal worm during her last trimester of pregnancy, when the vet warned not to worm her.
"This disease affects a llama like meningitis affects a person," Varga says. "She looked like she was drunk with Parkinson's disease. Her neck shook and she wobbled. We caught it early, and she got through it, but she was still not steady on her feet."
That's when Varga and Gould came together. Varga, owner of Crooked River Herb Farm in Peninsula, Ohio, encouraged Gould to use her horse sense on her llama. The results were inspiring.
"Tootsie is in love with her," Varga says. The llama's inflammation was reduced, and her mobility increased. She loved the process so much, she began backing into people her way of asking to have her back rubbed.
"My own vet doubted the therapeutic benefits," Gould says, "he's entitled to his beliefs.
"But recently, vets have been asking to meet me, since my customers have been reporting benefits."
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