I have no idea when they'll make a decision. I'm not really sure there's a way to learn how to do massage on my own. I would prefer to have some hands-on training with someone who knows what they're doing so that I have someone to tell me if I'm using the right amount of pressure, etc. There are a couple of places that offer online training (and some with hands-on), but they are either cost-prohibitive or distance is an issue. And I don't know that I want to spend that kind of time and/or money when I may not be allowed to actually/legally do it.
Based on what other states do, regulated seems to mean that someone (the vet boards?) decided who can do the massage and under what conditions. Several states decided only vets can do it. Others decided that it could be done with "direct vet supervision." I'm interpreting that literally, as is the vet has to supervise the massage. Which is absurd, because when it comes to horse massage, I doubt a vet is standing there while it's being done. And when humans get a massage, they certainly don't have a doctor watching the therapist at work.
Some states allow the practice, or at least don't have any rules against it. My state's in a "gray area" right now, but I'm under the impression from the program I contacted that some vets were giving the therapists a hard time, or were telling their patients that the practice isn't allowed, which is why the vet board is now reviewing this.
You might have to travel..offering your services in clinics rather than in your home...
The plan was to travel to the patient's home. My home has a lot of steps, so I don't think it would ideal for people or pets to come here, and as long as I'm fairly local, I have no problem traveling to them. I had also considered asking the local vet practices if I could come there for 1/2 - 1 day a week so that I could be in one area, and the people in that area could come to me instead of me bouncing around the county. I don't know if the vet would be willing to give up the space, or how much they would charge me for the space. These are not large practices and that's a room they could use to see patients. Hmm . . . though thinking out loud here, if they're in surgery for the morning, do they really need the exam room? Some of these places only have 1 vet, or maybe 2 . . .
Another idea was the local pet food stores -- perhaps they would let me set up in their store (in a quiet corner, preferably) so I could be in one place for a day or so. Again, I don't know how much they would charge, but it was a thought. But the main plan was to travel to the patient. I was also going to offer Reiki and Reflexology to my patients as well, but as add-ons.
But all of this means nothing if they decide to regulate it out the wazoo. And the program I was looking into, which is on hold now because of this, was both affordable and in-state. Most of it was online with 1 week at the school for hands-on training. I could swing that. The other programs . . . not so much.
Backstory: one day I was sitting at a light and saw the van next to me advertising animal massage. I'd never heard of it before and thought that was really interesting. I also wondered if it would have helped Pookie in his last weeks. Because of the tumor's location, he could really only sleep with his head turned one way. Perhaps massage would have helped his neck and shoulder muscles a bit and made him more comfortable. And I began to think about how many other animals could benefit from it, and all the different circumstances where it could help.
The link to Dr. Becker's article is here:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2016/04/07/pet-post-operative-massage.aspx Thanks for mentioning it, MC!
P.S. I just read the comments to that article, and someone said that they (states/vets?) ban "charging for the massage." SERIOUSLY?!?!