Easing the pain paw by paw
Ané is a veterinary therapist, which means she is a physiotherapist for animals, and she helps them recover from injuries and operations.
POLOKWANE – For Ané Lloyd, helping animals is her dream job and the best job in the world.
Ané helps in the maintaining of performance animals and assists in the improvement of quality of life in geriatric animals.
“God led me to this work. I always wanted to become a veterinarian, unfortunately I wasn’t accepted to study for the discipline, so I decided to attend the Plettenberg Bay Equestrian Academy. Here I came across a college for veterinary physiotherapy, the Equine-Librium College, where I completed four years of study. I can honestly say there isn’t a single day I have regretted my choice,” she smiles.
Ané qualified as a veterinary therapist in 2015 and she is now building up her practice.
She says she has never encountered an animal which has made her work impossible because sometimes, there are animals that are aggressive, which makes it more difficult.
She says the most troublesome aspect to her work is owners who do not want to listen to the advice she gives to help their animals.
Veterinary therapy is the use of certain modalities to aid pain relief and help the animal to return to normal function or optimal performance.
There are four different modalities namely manual therapy, such as massage, stretching and mobilisation of joints; electrotherapy such as laser therapy and therapeutic ultrasound; therapeutic exercise such as core strengthening, training programmes and weightless programmes; and hydrotherapy such as swimming, underwater treadmill and ozone therapy.
“I am not really a cat person and prefer dogs and horses. Last year I worked primarily with dogs while attending to horses after hours. I am not in favour of operations and I believe the problems an animal has, can more often than not, be treated by using physiotherapy.”
