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A Chiropractic for Animals?
PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
BY SHELAGH NEEDHAM
Although she was in pain, my little
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel wagged
her tail in delight when she saw Dr.
Alison Seely, the animal chiropractor
at the Carp Road Animal Hospital in
Stittsville.
Just days before, Carmen had twisted
her spine while playing with our
other family dog. She could no longer
stand and she whimpered in pain. A vet
told us that she might have to have her
back fused, which could have caused
problems for the rest of her life.
I carefully lifted Carmen onto the
table and watched anxiously as Dr.
Seely ran her hands down my dog’s
back. Carmen yelped as her neck was
adjusted, but the tail still wagged.
As the base of the spine was adjusted,
she yelped again. More tail wags.
This must surely be a good sign. Gently,
Carmen was lowered to the floor, where
she shook herself and trotted out of the
room towards the dog treat jar.
For some people this may be hard
to believe. To me, it was a miracle.
Where “Miracles”
Happen Regularly
On Tuesdays the clinic is packed
with four-legged patients and their
owners. Dr. Seely usually sees between
50 to 70 clients a day.
Some people have little faith in
chiropractic treatment but are there
because their pet is facing surgery,
which may or may not help. Sometimes
animals are semi-paralyzed and scheduled
for euthanasia if this last-ditch
chiropractic effort fails.
“They often begin by saying, ‘I’ve
got to tell you I don’t believe in what you
do and I think chiropractic is a bunch of
hogwash. But my vet has recommended
it and I strongly respect him, so I’m willing
to try,’” says Dr. Seely.
After obtaining a Master’s in
Wildlife Biology from the University of
Guelph in 1995, Dr. Seely, 43, began her
career as a marine biologist on the West
Coast, where she studied grey seals.
“I soon discovered that my greatest
satisfaction came from ‘doctoring’ the
seals and dolphins during illness
rather than researching them.”
She returned to Guelph and graduated
from the Ontario Veterinary
College in 1996. She first began adjusting
horses when she and her husband,
Kevin Mahoney, who was studying to
become a chiropractor, took riding lessons
in Guelph. The results were so significant
that, on graduation from veterinary
college, she studied animal chiropractic
under the auspices of the
American Veterinary Chiropractic
Association in Moline, Illinois.
Chiropractic currently makes up the
majority of her veterinary practice.
The smallest creature she’s adjusted
is a budgerigar that smashed into a
window, twisting its head.
“I had to use a tiny amount of finger
pressure to move that vertebrae.
And it did beautifully.”
A family Affair
Dr. Seely is a bright, bubbly
woman with a big smile and a keen
sense of humour. She, Kevin and their
three children — Savannah, 12, Forest,
10, and Logan, 7 — live in a beautiful
old farmhouse in Beachburg, an area
well known for its white water rafting.
They have an Irish Wolfhound named
Finn, a horse called Jack, and Archie,
the cat. Kevin, whose three brothers
are also chiropractors, is a people chiropractor
in the Ottawa valley and has
clinics in Pembroke and Deep River. In
her spare time, Alison plays the violin
and guitar and runs marathons. She
and Kevin have also begun participating
in Ironman triathlons. Last year
they took part in Ironman UK and this
year will race in Lake Placid.
Dr. Seely visits other small animal
practices in the Ottawa area during the
week. She also runs a veterinary clinic
in the Pembroke area for exotic pets.
“I still do regular medicine on ferrets,
birds, iguanas and rabbits. Sometimes I
find my two hats will converge.”
She recently saw a rabbit that had
lost the use of its back legs because it
had arthritis in its spine. She suggested
an adjustment, and the rabbit lived
another eight months because it could
move its legs again and walk.
Horses Now,
Elephants Next?
Three days a week Dr. Seely runs a
large animal mobile chiropractic service
in the Pembroke area, specializing
in horses. She adjusts 20 to 40 a week.
“Horses can walk in lame and walk
out sound. It’s very dramatic. I’ve often
had big groups of people around
watching me and they’re very excited
to see it.”
Horses can be in such pain that
they are difficult to handle. But with
one adjustment, they often begin to
feel an improvement.
“So suddenly the horse will trust me
and lower its head. And people who
have been scared of this big, terrorizing
horse will come over and see it just like
a puppy dog with the head down, leaning
into the adjustment and enjoying it.”
She attributes many of their misalignments
to riders mounting horses
Ottawa Page 30 Due West/Due East Magazine • Summer 2008