On Saturday, March 4th, the Anti Cruelty Society of Chicago hosted a basic animal massage seminar for its volunteers and their dogs. The class was set up as a win-win program for all involved. The shelter's volunteers were encouraged to bring their own dogs to learn and practice animal massage therapy techniques. The bigger picture is the usefulness of tools and information gained from the seminar will then be put to use on the shelter animals.

The instructors for the seminar were Denise Theobald, CMT/CAMT (Certified Massage, Therapist /Certified Animal Massage Therapist) and Marsha McClellan, CMT ftom Pet-ri-ssage, Ltd of Forest Park. The content of the seminar included benefits and contraindications of animal massage, animal massage for assessment, basic animal massage techniques, hands on practice and finally an entire animal massage sequence.

It is gratifying to watch the volunteers enjoy touching their dogs in a new way and seeing the dogs loving it! Some of the dogs started out on the feisty side, but soon became relaxed and calm. Volunteers who didn't have animals to bring doubled up with other volunteers to practice on their dogs. Several of the dogs received massage and a lot of attention from at least three different people. This gave volunteers experience with different body types and personalities. Norma Jean, a French Bulldog was an adorable sight. She became so relaxed she fell asleep and began snoring.

Volunteering at an animal shelter isn't easy, being an animal waiting for adoption out of an animal shelter certainly isn't either. Hats off to the Anti-Cruelty Society for giving their volunteers the opportunity to enjoy a day with their pets, and to the volunteers who cared enough to learn something new. As the seminar ended, I recalled how it began. The instructors asked each of us in attendance what we hoped to gain from this course. Each participant had individual reasons, but one common thread was to help the shelter animals in their care become more adjusted and adoptable. By the looks of things, the shelter animals will benefit immensely.