California Veterinary Law Review
Friday, September 4th, 2009Every state in the United States regulates professions to protect the general public from unscrupulous business practices. The Department of Consumer Affairs is the California agency that oversees these regulations. The Veterinary Medical Board of California supervises Doctors of Veterinary Medicine, Registered Veterinary Technicians and unregistered veterinary workers. It also sets educational standards and manages veterinary medical practice in the state. While business regulations are meant to protect the public from harm by professionals it is very difficult to see the reasoning behind some of the veterinary regulations when we are killing animals daily and using animals as laboratory specimens to test new medical sciences on. Where does harm to the public begin and end when we are harming animals everyday?
The California Business and Professions Code contains the professional codes that govern any regulated profession in California. Chapter 11 Article 2 Section 4825-4831 contains the definition of what the practice of veterinary medicine is defined as and tells us who may engage in this profession. Two sections of this code are very relevant to massage therapist who work with animals and all other complementary health care practitioners who work with animals, Section 4826 and Section 4827. 4826. Section 4826 states as follows:
A person practices veterinary medicine, surgery, and
dentistry, and the various branches thereof, when he or she does any
one of the following:
(a) Represents himself or herself as engaged in the practice of
veterinary medicine, veterinary surgery, or veterinary dentistry in
any of its branches.
(b) Diagnoses or prescribes a drug, medicine, appliance,
application, or treatment of whatever nature for the prevention, cure
or relief of a wound, fracture, bodily injury, or disease of
animals.
(c) Administers a drug, medicine, appliance, application, or
treatment of whatever nature for the prevention, cure, or relief of a
wound, fracture, bodily injury, or disease of animals, except where
the medicine, appliance, application, or treatment is administered by
a registered veterinary technician or an unregistered assistant at
the direction of and under the direct supervision of a licensed
veterinarian subject to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 4832) or
where the drug, including, but not limited to, a drug that is a
controlled substance, is administered by a registered veterinary
technician or an unregistered assistant pursuant to Section 4836.1.
However, no person, other than a licensed veterinarian, may induce
anesthesia unless authorized by regulation of the board.
(d) Performs a surgical or dental operation upon an animal.
(e) Performs any manual procedure for the diagnosis of pregnancy,
sterility, or infertility upon livestock or Equidae.
(f) Uses any words, letters or titles in such connection or under
such circumstances as to induce the belief that the person using them
is engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine, veterinary
surgery, or veterinary dentistry. This use shall be prima facie
evidence of the intention to represent himself or herself as engaged
in the practice of veterinary medicine, veterinary surgery, or
veterinary dentistry. Section 4827 states as follows: 4827. Nothing in this chapter prohibits any person from:
(a) Practicing veterinary medicine as a bona fide owner of one’s
own animals. This exemption applies to the following:
(1) The owner’s bona fide employees.
(2) Any person assisting the owner, provided that the practice is
performed gratuitously.
(b) Lay testing of poultry by the whole blood agglutination test.
For purposes of this section, “poultry” means flocks of avian
species maintained for food production, including, but not limited
to, chickens, turkeys, and exotic fowl.
(c) Making any determination as to the status of pregnancy,
sterility, or infertility upon livestock, equine, or food animals at
the time an animal is being inseminated, providing no charge is made
for this determination.
(d) Administering sodium pentobarbital for euthanasia of sick,
injured, homeless, or unwanted domestic pets or animals without the
presence of a veterinarian when the person is an employee of an
animal control shelter and its agencies or humane society and has
received proper training in the administration of sodium
pentobarbital for these purposes.
In my next blog we will look at how we can comply with these laws and how we can work with DVM’s to provide the proven benefit that massage and other complementary health care for animals supplies.
Belinda Burnside says:
September 21st, 2009
3:34 am
This is a very interesting piece, which I am glad I found. I am moving to California and have a post grad dip in veterinary chiropractics. However, I am an (Australian) osteopath, so the AVCA (American Vet Chiro Assoc) wont let me pracitce under their banner because they only register vets or chiro’s. Aaaarghh. So frustrating.
Therefore I am eagerly awaiting your next blog.
Cheers,
Belinda.Burnside
E.C.O (Equine Canine Osteopath)
admin says:
September 21st, 2009
10:41 am
Hello Belinda. Are you a certified DVM in Australia? Are you an osteopathic doctor? One way for you to get set up to practice here might be the educational route. One of the graduates from our small animal massage program is a German DVM but the state wouldn’t let her practice in California so she ended up working at a university here teaching. She has been taking courses while teaching in veterinary physiotherapy as well since her interest lies in rehabilitation. Chiropractors in the USA have forgotten what it was like to not be able to practice legally in the US. In 1976 a chiropractor finally brought an antitrust lawsuit against the AMA that he won later in court. 33 years later the chiropractors are acting the same way as the AMA in protecting their practice. I find it interesting that the stated mission of the AVCA is to ” provide the public with unhampered access to ethical doctors trained in animal chiropractic” and yet they are apparently discriminating against you for the same reasons that the AMA and the AVMA have discriminated against them in the past. Most professional medical health organizations in this country are more concerned with protecting their area of expertise then promoting the general health of the public it seems. Their is a special provision in California’s veterinary laws that specifically targets veterinary chiropractors and requires that a DVM must be onsite supervising a veterinary chiropractor which is particularly laughable because DVM’s have no expertise in this field so how can they supervise someone when they have little or no knowledge of the scope of practice? I am wondering what the rationale for denying reciprocity is in your case? Are you a member of the AVCA? If you are you might talk to the AVCA to see if they would work with you to get the door open. Organizations generally respect their peers in the field because they want respect and recognition. I would be interested in learning more about the AVCA’s reasoning for not allowing you membership to their organization.
Hope your day is going well and that you are in good spirits. There is a solution for every problem and I am sure that their is a solution to your dilemma too.
Nick Scott
Ojai School of Massage
Huiles essentielles says:
October 5th, 2009
5:22 am
Excellent article, it’s very informative!
talktome says:
October 15th, 2009
4:12 pm
Is it illegal not to mention unethical for a vet to quote you a price and then up it when you go to retrieve your animal? And then hold your animal hostage? What recourse do pet owners have?
admin says:
October 15th, 2009
6:57 pm
I am not a lawyer so I could not give you any legal advise. I don’t know which state you live in but every state has a consumer protection department and a veterinary board. In California consumer complaints are handled by the Department of Consumer Affairs. A complaint can also be made to the California Veterinary Medical Board which is regulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The only recourse you have is to contact these two government agencies if this took place in California. If you live in another state you will have to go online and do a search for the consumer protection agency in your state and the veterinary medical board in your state. I hope this helps you.
Aris says:
December 23rd, 2009
11:00 pm
Is it true if you have a written disclaimer using the language from Section 4826 that you are not doing any of the statements listed, then only do acupressure or massage on meridian points with the purpose of meridian balancing only, then you are within the law?
admin says:
December 28th, 2009
3:13 pm
As long as you are not charging for a service you can so anything that you like or as long as you are a bona fide employee of the animal owner or caretaker then you can do massage legally on the animal. The veterinary laws in California are very specific about what the scope of veterinary medicine is and who can practice veterinary medicine. Any touch that is designed to treat any of the systems of the animals body would be considered a veterinary medical treatment no matter how you try to avoid the law. Even if you claim you are not doing a medical treatment if you are balancing the Ki you would be providing a medical benefit to the animal through touch. For example, trimming an animals nails is considered a medical treatment because you would be doing a surgical procedure by cutting a part of the animals body. Practically speaking though you do not see the Veterinary Board going after groomers who are doing this procedure. You do see them going after groomers who are doing teeth cleaning though. Why one and not the other? There is a good deal of money in teeth cleaning for veterinarians would be one reason and another reason would be that groomers are not trained like veterinarians to do dental procedures. Any of the professions that are regulated by the state are generally regulated because there could be harm to the public if untrained and unscrupulous practitioners are allowed to practice their trade in this state. A recent Maryland court decision is being cheered by many animal massage therapists because the court found that there is no proof of harm to the public by animal massage therapists so they do not need to be regulated in Maryland. This decision sets a legal precedent that will be used by other practitioners in other states to challenge laws that are to restrictive and outdated. There has never been any proof that animal massage hurts the public the court found and since all state laws governing professions must have proof of harm to the public, I suspect the courts in other states will mostly concur with the Maryland court decision. The Chiropractic Board in Maryland was the organization that wanted the court to issue a cease and desist order against the animal massage therapist and this is perplexing because Chiropractors had to sue the AMA to get to practice their profession. When animals are killed by the millions for our food supply I find it very curious that this killing of animals is not considered a harm to the animal but doing massage on the animal is.
Donald Urquhart says:
May 18th, 2010
2:48 pm
I’d like to know exactly how licensing requirements help protect the public anyway. Why isn’t successful completion of the coursework enough? I know plenty of incompetent veterinarians who I wouldn’t let work on a troglodyte, much less one of my animals. Licensing causes just as many problems as it solves, and it does very little to protect animals.
Donald from Mallenders and Sallenders
Danielle says:
May 30th, 2010
6:39 pm
Hello Scott,
Through the years the CVMA has changed their position about who can provide physical rehabilitation in California. It is my understanding that at one point they were ok with individuals( that were not vets) performing massage and other manual therapeutic techniques. I am confused about their current stance. Please help me to better understand where massage, healing touch, t-touch, aromatherapy and other such techniques for animals sits with regard to the CVMA Practice Act.
It would seem that massage could be called a treatment which is preventative. Is there a document that allows someone that is not a licenced vet or working under direct supervision to perform massage independently? What training is required?
A person practices veterinary medicine, surgery, and
dentistry, and the various branches thereof, when he or she does any
one of the following:
(c) Administers a drug, medicine, appliance, application, or
treatment of whatever nature for the prevention,
Thanks for the help.
Danielle
admin says:
June 1st, 2010
3:56 pm
Hello Danielle,
As long as you are not claiming a benefit it could not be misconstrued by the veterinary profession that you are claiming to practice veterinary medicine. Since no harm has been proven from massage to animals and since the AVMA association does not recognize any proven medical benefits to massage there should be no problem performing massage on animals. The California Veterinary Board has not issued any statement about animal massage therapists. They have specifically made sure that Chiropractic work must be done under the direct supervision of a DVM. The caution to working with animals is to make sure that you have a DVM approve the treatment before hand to make sure that there are no contraindications to massage. Also in the state of California the general public has a right to treat their animals as they see fit as long as they are not abusing the animal. If someone employs you to do massage on their animal they have a legitimate right to do this and you automatically become a legitimate employee whether they are employing you for an hour or a year. If you read the law a legitimate employee of the animals owner can have you apply medical treatment to their animals. The key here is to not claim that you are doing a medical treatment and to not go against a DVM’s recommendations. There are now cases that have been resolved in other states where massage practitioners have won in court the right to work on animals and I don’t think that massage therapists pose a threat to DVM’s in this state so, there is no reason for the California Veterinary Board to go after massage therapists as long as we are recognizing that DVM’s are the primary caregivers for animals, their education far surpasses what a massage therapists education, and we should defer to their wisdom in the field and seek out their advise. We should always maintain a healthy non-adversarial relationship with DVM’s, animal PT’s and all other animal health care providers so that we can all contribute together in our own expertise to help animals be free from pain and suffering.
Danielle says:
June 3rd, 2010
12:01 pm
Hi Scott,
Thanks for your response and for hosting this blog. Interesting perspective. I fully agree about value of have a positive collaboration and the ultimate goal of doing what is in the best interest of each animal. I believe Colorado now allows massage therapists and physical therapists to work without direct vet supervison with referral from a vet. I know it took them a long time to ge to that point.
I just spoke with someone in the AVMA (enforcement office) in California and gave them specific examples of how someone might provide animal massage, i.e. in someone’s home or at an agility event to get their perspective on how the law is written. They said under no circumstace is this legal unless the service is provided by a licensed vet or is under direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian. They also said even if the veterinarian had first evaluated the animal and approved massage the provider could not offer this services independently. I didn’t ask them about whether it is legal if you don’t charge a fee, vs asking for a donation or setting up a fee schedule. I had seen something in a previous post about that….The AVMA office said they will be rolling out more specific language to address complementary/alternative care very soon to clarify some of thes topics.
I hope we can get to a place where we can all contribute to the well being of our 4 legged friends without all of the politics that go with it.
Danielle
admin says:
June 3rd, 2010
3:56 pm
Danielle,
The AVMA’s main role is to support their members which are licensed DVM’s in the United States and it makes sense that they would protect their members from encroachment on their practice. The AVMA does not have an enforcement capability in the state of California because they are not the legal authority in California. The California Department of Consumer Affairs, the California Attorney General and the California Medical Board are the only parties that can pursue enforcement actions in the state of California regarding veterinary laws. I have always hesitated in getting into the politics of veterinary laws because of the history of actions that have been taken by professional organizations such as the AVMA, AMA and various massage and chiropractic boards against people who don’t agree with them. This is not to say that I am afraid to speak my mind though when I see them acting in ways that harm the public by restricting the publics right to the medical treatments of their choice. While the states have the right to regulate professions as they see fit in order to protect the public from harm, the state does not have the right to regulate practices that have no proven harm to the public. The states have long taken advantage of the publics ignorance and lack of interest to take away the citizens rights to medical care of their choice. It is only when the public stands up and challenges these restrictive laws and regulations instituted by these states and organizations; that the laws are changed back to benefitting the people. The AVMA paid a lot of money to make sure that only their members would be able to help animals. Through lobbying efforts they worked closely with legislative staff to make sure that no one but their members would be able to work in animal health legally. They literally have a monopoly on veterinary medicine and monopolies are illegal in this country unless you get the federal government to give you a monopoly franchise like the NFL, NBA, or some other sports franchise monopoly. Some people choose to fight this cozy relationship that the AVMA has with the government and some of us work quietly in the background to change this from the ground up. The California public spends a lot of money on complementary or what some call alternative health care for their animals and money talks more then words and legal actions. Well over 30% of animal “owners” use complementary health care treatments for their animals. The AVMA and the Department of Consumer Affairs Veterinary Medical Board can not stop this. They don’t have the resources. Even the Veterinary Medical Board on their website lets us know that it is very hard to prove a complaint. This was taken from their site.
The Complaint Review Process
The VMB receives hundreds of complaints each year regarding the conduct of veterinarians, registered veterinary technicians, unlicensed persons, or conditions of a veterinary facility. The initial complaint review determines whether the VMB has jurisdiction. The VMB’s authority to investigate is limited to administrative violations of the California Veterinary Practice Act, including, negligence, incompetence, fraud, deception, unprofessional conduct, and sanitary condition of a facility. If the initial review reveals that the complaint is regarding a fee dispute or collection methods, the complaint is closed. Consumers are notified that the VMB has no jurisdiction and are provided with information outlining the procedures for a small claims court action.
“Once jurisdiction is established, the persons named in the complaint are contacted and asked to submit written statements and copies of any available medical records, x-rays or laboratory reports. As soon as this information is received, the complaint file is reviewed by the VMB’s veterinary medical advisor. The advisor makes a determine to either: (1) close the case; (2) refer it to the VMB’s complaint review committee for further review; (3) issue a citation and fine, or (4) refer it to the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Division of Investigation (DoI) for a formal investigation.”
“Complaints under investigation contain essentially unsubstantiated allegations and the information contained in the file is exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act. Complaint information is only available via subpoena after the investigation is closed.”
“Who Can or Should File a Complaint
Anyone who witnesses or believes that a licensed veterinarian or unlicensed person’s behavior or activities may cause harm (or the potential for harm) to animal patients or may be illegal, can file a complaint. The most effective complaints contain, firsthand, verifiable information. While anonymous complaints will be reviewed, they may be impossible to pursue unless they contain documented evidence to support the allegations.”
As you can see from this last section there must be witnesses to the person’s behavior or activities that may cause harm to an animal and this must be verifiable and documented. It is very hard for the board to go after massage therapists unless someone has made a complaint to the board and then they need to be able to prove the illegal activity. They would for have to prove that you were doing the massage for money because the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Veterinary Medical Board only have jurisdiction over professional business practitioners who are required to be licensed in this state. So, unless there is a check made out to the practitioner, a witness that saw the massage happen and the check or money order being given to the practitioner after the massage was performed or a regulatory officer for the state Department of Consumer affairs or a law enforcement officer present that records this infraction of the law I fail to see why massage practitioner are so afraid of doing massage on animals. We are walking in the jungle and we do need to watch our actions and be aware that there are wild animals out there who do not play well with others and are looking to harm others or protect their own territory. When walking in the jungle walk quietly and know who is lurking around you and take precautions to protect yourself. The police departments can tell you how hard it is to catch and prosecute prostitutes in this state. In fact they are trying to make sure right now that they have full control over the California Massage Therapy Board so that they can have extra tools to weed out prostitution in this state. If they can’t handle prostitutes, drugs and violent crimes in this state then you can rest assured that you have as little chance of getting prosecuted for doing massage on animals as you do of winning the lottery.
Sometimes it is best to hide the light from the encroaching forces of darkness so that it can stay alive. Only when the encroaching forces are threatening to blow the light out should we resist this force. Wasting energy on fighting only leads to more fighting and exhaustion. Concentrating on the light and building the light within will make the light brighter and help animals more. As complementary health care practitioners we should spend our energy on helping animals become free from pain and suffering and not on battling with others. We should not fear the darkness either because one ray of light illuminates the darkness if it is strong enough it will illuminate a vast amount of darkness.
I do hope that the AVMA will not continue to veil the light of our practice but will work with us to benefit animals.
Danielle says:
June 4th, 2010
12:46 pm
I feel silly asking for one more clarification but here it goes….about the exchange of money…
“As long as you are not charging for a service you can so anything that you like or as long as you are a bona fide employee of the animal owner or caretaker then you can do massage legally on the animal. ”
“They would for have to prove that you were doing the massage for money because the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Veterinary Medical Board only have jurisdiction over professional business practitioners who are required to be licensed in this state. So, unless there is a check made out to the practitioner, a witness that saw the massage happen and the check or money order being given to the practitioner after the massage was performed or a regulatory officer for the state Department of Consumer affairs or a law enforcement officer present that records this infraction of the law I fail to see why massage practitioner are so afraid of doing massage on animals.
So, is it correct to say…as long as there is no exchange of money ( do it for free?) it is ok to perform massage in private or in public? It would seem to me then that anyone that has an animal massage business working at athletic events or in someone’s home is still a problem. If you charge for this service then it must be peformed under vet supervsion? I just want to make sure I am doing what is legal in California. I am very concerned about protecting my license. I am so sorry to consume more time here. I really appreciate your input…I am happy to email you privately if this is too much for the blog.
Danielle
admin says:
June 7th, 2010
11:06 am
Danielle, The law specifically states under Section 4827 that as long as you are a legitimate employee of the animals owner or as long as you are assisting the animals owner gratuitously that “nothing in this chapter prohibits any person from” doing massage or any other practice that would normally be considered veterinary medicine. Gratuitously according to the Webster’s dictionary means “given or done free of charge”. You stated in your last post that you are very concerned about protecting your license. What license are you trying to protect? Also the best way to clarify any legal issues is to contact the California Attorney General: http://ag.ca.gov/opinions.php and get a legal opinion from the highest legal authority in the state. If the Attorney General of California gives you a legal opinion that says it would be legal to do what you want to do then you can rest assured that the legal authorities in this state would not go after you. I hope this helps you.
Danielle says:
June 26th, 2010
1:22 pm
Thanks again for all of the information. I am a Physical Therapist.
admin says:
June 26th, 2010
3:25 pm
Danielle, If you are a registered physical therapist you physical therapy organization has a special interest group that works with the AVMA and sets standards and education requirements for physical therapists to work with animals. If you take some advanced courses at the University of Tennessee or the University of Colorado’s veterinary physical therapy programs under the auspices of the APTA special interest group you could get a certification to do physical therapy on animals and you could legally do massage on animals. I will look at the physical therapy laws in California and see if it might be legal for a registered physical therapist in this state to work on animals as well as humans. I will get back to you once I have done a little more research.