Incorrect information on google search - how to become an animal physical therapist

I'm a little frustrated with what I just found. I did a search on google for "how to become an animal physical therapist" (since that is a question I get asked A LOT!) and the first link that shows up SHOULD be a good link with lots of really helpful information. But, it's loaded with incorrect and useless information. I have to admit, I'm a little upset about it because I have hundreds of children email me who are looking for good information on how to get into this field one day...and this "how to" article is just simply not good information. Here's the link if you want to check it out - maybe if enough of us give it bad reviews, they will take it off the web or change the information.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4798589_become-animal-physical-therapist.html

So, here are the corrections... First, Western University does NOT have a masters program that has anything to do with animal physical therapy. The author of this article was misunderstanding that animal physical therapy (also called canine or equine physical rehabilitation) is very different from the animal rehabilitation that involves helping sick or injured wild animals and then returning them to their natural habitat or zoo.

Second, you can NOT find programs in your area by checking out NaturalHealers.com. All that is there are ads for one school's long-distance programming (which again, has nothing to do with animal physical therapy). It's a scam.

Some real and good information can be found on David Levine's website. He is an excellent physical therapist who has been instrumental in advancing the field of animal physical therapy. His helpful website with lots of good resources can be found at:

http://www.utc.edu/Faculty/David-Levine/Veterinary.HTM/

Also, Lin McGonagle has been instrumental in advancing our field of animal physical therapy as well. She is a fabulous physical therapist and has a GREAT resource manual that you can purchase. I bought her first edition years ago when I first started out in the field and I found it to be tremendously helpful. I highly recommend it! Here is the link:

http://www.morningstaranimalpt.com/manual.htm

Back to the eHow article... There is no state licensing exam for animal physical therapy as of yet. There IS a licensing exam for human physical therapy and veterinary medicine however.

And finally, the rest of the information was just not that useful. Of course you need to gain experience in the field. But the author left out the most important resources.

Here are the links again for the sites I think are most helpful if you are learning about how to enter the field of animal physical therapy:

http://www.utc.edu/Faculty/David-Levine/Veterinary.HTM/
http://www.morningstaranimalpt.com/manual.htm
http://www.caninerehabinstitute.com/
http://www.canineequinerehab.com/

The first 2 links are great resources. The second 2 links are the only two professional and respected education programs in the United States for continuing education in animal physical therapy! In a nutshell, get your formal degree in PT or veterinary medicine. Then, take the continuing education courses listed at the websites above (which will involve a short internship experience) and finally, contact the animal rehab centers listed on David's site to see about volunteering or securing a job. He has a great list divided up by regions of the country. You can also find a state-by-state listing on the Handicappedpets.com site. Here's the direct link:

http://handicappedpets.com/www/link-a-resources/pet-rehab-centershealers.html

Hope this helps!