Pets Have A Sore Spot? This Saint John RMT Will Give Them A Massage
SAINT JOHN– A Saint John registered massage therapist (RMT) is not only helping humans feel their best but their furry friends too.
Josh Fry is the owner of New Brunswick Sports Massage Clinic, which serves his human clientele. But he’s also the owner of Thera-Paws, an at-home massage therapy practice for dogs and cats.
Fry started working on animals about two years ago when it was suggested to him by a client.
“I worked with an individual who worked with dog shows, they came in with an issue on themselves. They had pain during the dog show and they couldn’t do their run fast enough, and they just mentioned ‘Oh, you should do animal massage,’ ” says Fry.
“I was like ‘sure, why not?'”
After acquiring animal massage credentials through a school in California and updating his practice’s insurance, Fry was then able to work on dogs and cats.
“I love working with people and learning how they work. And when it was brought to my attention that I should try animals, I was thinking, ‘I can learn how animals work too,’ ” says Fry. “I just like learning things. I just fell in love with it. I just really want to see what I could do. And if I can be of benefit to someone’s animal, that’s even better.”
Some of Thera-Paws clients have been the pets whose owners Fry has treated before. Some clients reached out when they heard someone in the city offers the service and were not “weirded out by it.”
That is the biggest hurdle, like ‘why would I pay you to rub my pet,’” says Fry. “Why would you pay me to massage anyone, really. That’s the same kind of thing, it’s just someone who is trained and knows what they’re doing.”
Most of the pets Thera-Paws treats are those nearing the end of their lives or are recovering from injury or surgery. Fry says he makes a point of not just massaging the pets himself, but also showing the owner how to do it. He does this because not many people can afford regular massages for their pets. It’s a similar approach he takes to his human patients.
“I would rather you come to me once and then I help you and give you the empowerment and support you need to do whatever you need to do on your own. Same with animals as well,” says Fry. “You’re paying me money to come and massage your animal. I have that skill and knowledge and I’ve studied quite hard on that, but I can also pass that on to you so you don’t have to spend a ton of money on this. It’s only when you need it. I found that doing that, more people are receptive.”
Fry says most of his clients have been dogs since they are almost always receptive to be massaged and petted. Cats, on the other hand, as many owners will know, petting and rubbing can get you either purring or claws.
“I can show up and if the cat is having none of it, I’m not going to force the cat and you’re still paying me,” says Fry.
That being said, if you have a moody feline, he will still try to teach you how to massage them yourself.
“I’m able to show the owner the techniques you should use and the theory and thoughts behind working on your own cat,” says Fry.
Though Thera-Paws has been around for two years, Fry says he would like to grow the animal side of his practice and work with more cats and dogs. Learning how to work with other animals is also on his bucket list.
“I would also like to start working with horses, just because of the small interactions I’ve had with them, learning about their anatomy and how people work with them, it’s just amazing to me,” says Fry. “By the time I’m 50, I want to work with elephants.”
Whether it’s human or animals, Fry’s goal is to always try to help.
“It’s always [a happy experience]. Even when the animals I’ve worked with that were close to death and were very lethargic, the owner was extremely thankful and happy. I was able to help the owner, I was able to help the animal feel a little bit better,” says he says. “That’s all I really want to do with my life is just help people feel better.