Best in Show How chiropractic is helping animal athletes Vibe, a yellow Labrador Retriever, executes a competition jump. Dr. Larry McCarthy, is a graduate of CMCC and holds his Certifica- tion in Animal Chiropractic from the Healing Oasis Wellness Centre of Canada (an AVCA-certified school). He is a member of the CCA, OCA, CMCC and York Peel Chiropractic Society. He is married to Pat Mc- Carthy, an agility competitor and part-time puppy kindergarten teacher. His Ontario licence plate reads “ANIMALDC”. Visit his web- site at: www.mccarthychiro.ca. R ocky was having trouble with his starts, as he competed internationally last year. Briar, a big fellow, could turn left quickly without any problem, but when he tried to cut right, something didn’t feel right so he would have to slow down and be more deliberate in his actions. Kelly would negotiate the hurdles just fi ne, in the early stages of her event, but by the end she was knocking hurdles over with her trailing leg. Dennis, an ex-athlete, now looking older than he actually is, simply had trouble negoti- ating around his home. Besides the fact that chiropractic treatment helped get them back on the fi eld of play in record time, and continues to help them maintain their athletic abilities, what do these athletes have in common? They’re dogs! ANIMAL CHIROPRACTIC If you think animal chiropractic is something new, consider that, in 1944, B.J. Palmer wrote, “In the early days of chiropractic, we maintained a veterinarian hospital where we adjusted the vertebral subluxations of sick cows, horses, cats, dogs . . . .” Modern animal chiropractic began in the State of New Jersey in the early 1980s when a group calling itself Options for Animals began working on dogs. The project was short-lived, as legal action was launched against one of the chiropractors by veterinar- ians in the state. The organization was later revived when a veterinarian by the name of Dr. Sharon Willoughby enrolled and graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic. Soon after that, “Options” opened a school for animal chiropractic. There are now three schools in the United States, one in Canada and one in Europe. The courses are open to any qualifi ed chiropractor or veterinarian. In most jurisdictions in Canada and the U.S., 18 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | JUNE 2008 www.canadianchiropractor.ca Larry McCarthy, DC feature Photos by Dr. Larry McCarthy
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