Photo provided Amanda Fisher, a chiropractor based in Barnesville and the Belmont County coroner, is now certified to offer chiropractic services to animals. She is pictured with a rescue horse in Texas that she worked with while training.

BARNESVILLE — Chiropractor Amanda Fisher, also the Belmont County coroner, is now offering relief to four-footed, furred and feathered patients as well as people, having recently completed training to offer chiropractic services to animals.

Fisher said she was motivated by a lack of services among the many communities locally that are home to both pets and farm animals.

“I had heard that it’s so hard to find an animal chiropractor in our area,” she said. “I definitely recognized there was a need.

“It’s very similar to why humans get chiropractic care. A lot of times people don’t realize, but just like us, animals can have nerve impingements, they can have muscular/skeletal issues. You have an animal, perhaps a short-legged dog for example, that jumps off a bed or a couch in the wrong way, and it will essentially put nerve pressure in their lower back,” she said. “We can adjust that animal to take the nerve pressure off. You can see animals that will be limp in their hind legs, and then after an adjustment you can actually get them to stand and walk again. It’s another alternative therapy to try to help animals with less drugs.

“That becomes important in your food animals as well. When you’re adjusting animals that are used in food production, you obviously want that meat to have as few medications, antibiotics, additional hormones as possible,” she said.

“I am now a certified animal chiropractor through the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association, and in the State of Ohio if you would like to practice chiropractic on animals, you must first either be a licensed doctor of veterinary medicine or a doctor of chiropractic,” Fisher said.

She added there are only five training facilities in the United States.

“Each state is different on the requirements after that training, but in Ohio after you finish the training you must take and pass a national board exam through the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association,” she said.

“The program that I attended can take up to two years, but I am not a very patient person, so I began in February and I finished the training in the middle of June, and I sat for my board exam the second weekend in September in Oklahoma, and I just received my final passing board scores last weekend,” she said.

Fisher said she expects to be treating a high number of dog and horse patients, based on feedback from the community after she announced her certification status.

“They don’t necessarily have to have a physical problem to be adjusted. A lot of these animals are athletes, so they compete in shows, and just as an elite athlete has a physical therapist, has a massage therapist, has a chiropractor, these animals will also have the same group of people on their team because it can enhance their performance,” she said.

She anticipates many 4-H farm animal calls, since showing animals is an important element of competing in fairs.

“I’ve been consulted on quite a few hog patients. Their hips tend to go out pretty frequently, a good breeder can see that and want to get that corrected as soon as possible,” she said.

“I think the challenge is on any given day, you might be called for any number of possibilities or unusual pets. One thing interesting that I see pop up in the news frequently is zoo calls. You will have an animal at a zoo facility or a newborn at a zoo facility and the vet recognizes there is a need to call in an animal chiropractor.”

Fisher said she will be treating small animals at her office in Barnesville and larger animals at her farm outside of Barnesville, or she will make farm calls to the owner’s property.

Her practice is located at 712 West Main St., Barnesville. For more information, call 740-425-2700 or visit the Fisher Family & Sport Chiropractic Facebook page.