PetMassage, LTD.

Massage Therapist Rubs Animals The Right Way

By Erica Blake
The Oakland Press

OAKLAND: Diagnosed with severe arthritis, 11 year-old Kory hasn't been able to walk comfortably for months. His only reprieve coming from painkilling drugs, Kory finds the only time he avoids discomfort is when he just lies still.

But Kory's owner, Bob McNiven, would have none of that. So McNiven, 67, decided to get his 112 pound dog a massage."I read an article about (pet massage) back in December, and I clipped it out because my dog is buckled up with arthritis," the Southgate man said."I used to spend about $100 a month in shots to help it, but I wasn't seeing much progress. After one massage, I could see it helped out some."McNiven drove the 46 miles to Lambertville, just north of the Ohio border, to find Jonathan Rudinger, a massage therapist and creator of the video "Effective Pet Massage". Kory was not cured of arthritis, but he sure can walk better, McNiven said.Rudinger, 50, will demonstrate his massage techniques at the Birmingham Borders Books and Music on Woodward Avenue and at The Nature Company in Somerset Mall.

"We try to get programs that we think our core audience are interested in and we know that pets are something that people in this area are very interested in," said Lorie Hile, community relations coordinator for the Woodward store.

A registered nurse and licensed massage therapist, Rudinger happened across the practice after realizing the benefits massage offered to Gant, his 14 year-old Arabian bay gelding.

An avid horseman and pet lover, Rudinger began massaging Gant to help him compete in 30 to 40 mile endurance races. It was while demonstrating this technique on local TV in Toledo that massaging horses turned to dogs and then led to cats.

"While I was doing the demonstration, they brought out a dog for me to massage - so I did," he said.

"As I was massaging this dog, I had a personal revelation that this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life."

To date, Rudinger has massaged hundreds of dogs and cats and even more horses. Working on the animals for about 45 minutes, Rudinger structures his massages based on the animal's specific muscular configurations. A session costs about $45.

Rudinger will work magic on furry animals but refuses to massage reptiles. "They're too spooky," he said.

Maintaining his human clientele, Rudinger devotes only about 30 percent of his practice to animals. So to help owners pick up the slack, he created a video demonstrating the techniques of pet massage.

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