August 2019 Practitioner of the month....maureen bissonette

Name: Maureen Bissonette

Location: Golden Valley, Arizona USA

Certifications Through Angel's Animals: Canine Myo-manipulative Functional Therapy, Canine Kinesiology Tape, Canine Craniosacral Therapy, Equine Myo-manipulative Functional Therapy, Equine Kinesiology Tape, Equine Craniosacral Therapy

When did you decide that you wanted to work with animals? I have always had a passion for animals but it just never really happened till the last year.  But years ago I was at these fairgrounds where I lived.  They had a demonstration of a lady doing I’m not sure if it was chiropractic or bodywork on this horse, it was the coolest thing.  When she was done the horse fell over in a pile of shavings and started snoring.  It just blew my mind.  But never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be doing this kind of thing.  It just blows my mind.

What animal influenced you the most growing up? Oh my Gosh, I have had so many animals growing up.  It’s hard to say.  Maybe my horse Shiloh.  My Mom surprised me one year for Christmas with him.  He had been abused by men and I wanted to fix him.  He was an honory one, but we came to an understanding.  He was such a character.  I think he was the one doing the teaching.

What animals do you currently own? The animals that I currently own are MJ, short for Maryjane.  She is a 10 year old chihuahua who has not had a good life.  Her previous family was not very nice to her.  They drug her into WAHS (Western Arizona Humane Society) with her feet bleeding, saying they no longer wanted her.  She is quite the character.  She likes to growl a lot showing everyone how ferocious she is.
Then I have Jasper.  He is a 7 year old little chiweenie.  He is the love of my life.  I rescued him from WAHS after I had lost another dog to cancer.  He lived with a homeless guy in a car with two other dogs.  His owner went in the hospital and never came back.
And finally Roo, she is a two year old chihuahua that someone was giving away on facebook and I was afraid she would become a bait dog so I took her too.  Roo is part kangaroo, she leaps over everything.  She is in the process of obedience lessons and then she is gonna be a star in agility and maybe flyball, depending on what she likes best.  She is a tiny thing so it will be fun seeing her compete with the big dogs, but she is just so dang fast.

What makes your animal bodywork practice stand out? I think what makes my practice stand out is my love for the animals.  In my heart I am supposed to be a healer and I want to heal them all. I don’t want to see any in pain. I have a cousin that lives in Arkansas and I’m in Arizona.  She puts up a video of her pony limping and I’m sending her a video of how to tape him since I can’t get there to help him.

What message would you like to share with potential clients? That I am here to help them, I don’t want to see any animals in pain.

What message would you like to share with others who are thinking about pursuing a career in animal bodywork? Wow, the feeling of actually being able to help them is absolutely incredible.  I worked on a dog at a dog show that was limping, the owners thought they were going to have to pull him.  I massaged him and taped it up.  We left it taped up over night and they showed him the next day and he took Best Opposite Sex.  They were ecstatic and I’m like did I do that?  Another thing is going into a shelter and working on a dog that is scared and stressed out, terrified and being able to calm it down.

Visit Maureen's Website