Page 32 - BusinessWest January 8, 2024

Melinda Harris stands beside the water treadmill at Power Paws.
Staff Photo
Harris offers a series of treatment packages targeted to each patient’s needs, starting with an in-depth consultation and plan, which may include a combination of exercise equipment, an under- water treadmill, and laser therapy.
“Almost every dog, unless they’re coming in for general condi- tioning, will get a laser treatment on whatever is bothering them,” she said. “And then we’ll do different exercises depending on what the condition requires; they’re beneficial for so many different things. And I would say 90% of the clients will also use the under-
water treadmill; that has been fantastic for a lot of dogs.”
The device, which offers different levels of resistance through
both the moving tread and the water, isn’t exactly the fun part of the session.
“People ask me, ‘do you have a hard time getting them to go in there? Do they fight you?’ I mean, some of them get a little upset when they first go in. They might try to climb out or splash, but I haven’t had a dog yet that I haven’t been able to train to accept the treadmill.”
Part of Harris’s training and expertise, obviously, has to do with how she handles the dogs.
“Generally speaking, my rule of thumb is, I don’t force a dog to do anything,” she explained. “So if a dog doesn’t want to do some- thing, we’ll find a different way to do it, or we’ll skip that altogether. So maybe the first or second visit, we don’t go in the treadmill. Or maybe we throw some cookies in, let them go in and sniff it out, and when they seem more comfortable with me, then we’ll go in the treadmill and see what the dog is willing to do.
“But I don’t muzzle dogs, and I don’t force them to do things, because we have to have a working relationship for weeks and months, and if they’re afraid of me, it’s not going to work,” she went on. “So everything is very treat-based, play-based — and the dogs are absolutely looking forward to running in the door when they get here.”
Animal Attraction
It helps that Harris has loved animals all her life. After high school, she took a year off, working at a pet store and as a groomer — “I’ve always been working with animals, even if it’s not in the vet- erinary setting” — and then went back to school, earning a certifica- tion in veterinary science in 2003.
“I was a veterinary nurse for about six years, working at South- wick Animal Hospital,” she recalled. “The owner/doctor there had another doctor coming in and doing orthopedic surgeries, and she said, ‘why don’t you check out this class on rehab and see if you like it?’ So I said, ‘sure.’”
As it turned out, Harris loved the class and decided to seek
“Everything is very treat-based, play-based — and the dogs
are absolutely looking forward to running in the door when they get here.”
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32 JANUARY 8, 2024
MONTHLY FEATURE
BusinessWest