Dogs will relax pretty quickly once they realise what's going on.

Berlin is a dog-eat-dog town, after all. But after a soothing, 30- minute massage, her patients are frisky, bright-eyed and bushy- tailed.

Possibly Europe's first certified canine chiropractor, Zoefel works as a professional masseuse for maltreated mutts at Berlin's main animal shelter.

"Dogs have back problems, just like any of the rest of us," she said.

"They arrive here at the pound after often traumatic experiences," she added. "Often they are suffering from abandonment issues and have been physically abused or neglected. It's up to me to help loosen them up."

The 61-year-old therapist shows up once a week, every Monday, for her hands-on experience with up to a dozen dogs of varying sizes and ages.

Genghis, a high-strung husky, is typical of her canine clients.

*quote1*"Poor Genghis was left here three weeks ago after his owner said she could no longer keep him because she was going to have a baby and didn't feel would he fit in with her lifestyle any more," Zoefel explained.

"He is very distraught and of course doesn't understand why he cannot go home," she added, as she began massaging the handsome silvery-grey dog, despite his efforts to leap up off her red foam massage mat.

But after about five minutes of gentle back and shoulder massaging, Genghis began to relax and close his anxious eyes as Zoefel cooed encouragement into his large soft ears.

Rejuvenated, Genghis was trotted back to his kennel run.

"Genghis is a loving and well-behaved animal who responds to commands to sit and to heel," she noted. "But we only discovered that after a few massage sessions with him. Before that, he was anxious and aggressive."

Blonde, bright-eyed and lithe like a collie (a compliment she accepts smilingly) Zoefel started out with humans but has switched almost exclusively to dogs, whom she calls far more appreciative of her ministrations than most people ever are.

"People will lie there and talk about their problems at work or their worries about their families or relationships and have a hard time relaxing," she said. "But dogs will relax pretty quickly once they realise what's going on. And then they really get into it."

The actual massage strokes are basically the same as those used on humans: rolling motions around the shoulders and hips, patting and shaking motions on the limbs, deep massage on the back and rump, soft kneading of the thighs.

"The only major difference is the feet," she said as she started in on her next patient, a mongrel brindle shepherd called Carolina.

"Massaging the palms of hands and bottoms of feet is an essential part of human massage. But the pads of dogs' feet are different. The areas between their toes are very ticklish and they generally get nervous if I work that area much."

She spends half an hour on each canine patient, though admittedly that is precious little for many cases of extreme canine trauma.

"One session is just not enough to bring about a therapeutic improvement, of course," she said. "Just like people, many dogs suffer from arthritis or spinal curvature or have other medical conditions that require a regular course of therapy."

*quote2*Zoefel receives no payment for her work at the animal shelter, donating six hours of massage time weekly.

"With the hundreds of animals here at the pound, the staff simply don't have the time to do this," she explained. "Besides, I underwent a year of special training as a masseuse for animals. Not just everybody can plop down and massage a dog, you know."

She does cats as well, though felines are seldom as appreciative.

"Quite honestly, I have yet to meet a cat that likes to get a massage," she said. "They like a bit of cuddling and petting but anything beyond that is too intimate for them and they get restless."

Zoefel charges up to about EUR 40 a session for massage sessions at people's homes. But her work for the Berlin animal shelter is for free. She also has no pets of her own and regards her patients as "mine, all of them - because they have nobody else".

"The pound is chronically short of money as it is," she explained. "And each and every animal here has a sad story to tell.

"All I need to do is look into these big grateful brown eyes," she said as she finished up Carolina's massage and got a sloppy lick on the chin in response. "That's all the payment I need."
November 2004

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Life in Germany, dog massages