Rufus Adventures: January 2008

No, we are not kidding. We are those ridiculous over-indulgent dog owners who did get their dog a real massage from a real massage therapist. What's worse is that he isn't even really our dog. But our genius human massage therapist Lauren does in fact offer dog massage. (The "Person 'n' Pup Package" hee hee.) Lauren is the proud parent of two dachshunds who have both had back issues, not uncommon in the breed. When her dog Slim was recovering from his back surgery, she did a couple of types of massage on him, and believes it helped him recover. Rufus (who has had 2 MRIs- more than most humans) has a condition called Cushing's disease which, when untreated, causes dogs to seem prematurely aged, and be stiff and lethargic. Rufus also has some compressed discs in his back that may be causing him discomfort. We thought we'd see if the massage (in addition to his medication, which seem to be working well) made Rufus feel any better. When Seth went for his most recent massage, he scheduled one for Rufus, too. Lauren kindly left her own dogs with a neighbor so that Rufus' visit to her in-home studio could be serene. (Apparently, she's done most of her other dog massages in people's homes. We're the only ones nutty enough to bring the dog to her.)

Lauren puts Rufus on the table and starts to relax him. (FYI, Lauren's studio is spotless and she changes all the covers on her massage table immediately after each client, human or canine, so no one get all oogy here about the dog on the table. And I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I wipe off his paws with baby wipes when he comes in the house after a walk. Blame my friend Fiorella - she gave me the idea - she does it with her dog, Moose. The animals are getting on our furniture, after all.)