FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Douglas Jordan was skeptical when the veterinarian suggested massage might help his dog, Charlie, who was suffering from back pain and arthritis. But he was willing to try almost anything to help his 8-year-old dachshund walk again.

So Charlie began a regimen of therapy once reserved for people.

Massage therapist Bonny Donnelly says the dachshund's hind legs were atrophied, and he was depressed and in pain when she first saw him, five months after surgery for a protruding disk. Donnelly treated Charlie for almost a year with massage, stretching exercises and Reiki, a non-manipulative form of touch and energy therapy.

After months of massage, exercise and swimming, Charlie started to show improvement.

"He was starting to do some walking instead of dragging himself across the floor," says Jordan, a teacher from Miami who says he normally takes a more scientific approach to healing. "He's not 100 percent, but he is completely mobile and happy."

Animal wellness is a burgeoning market, with pets residing in 63 percent of American households and industry sales estimated to reach $34 billion this year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

Like Jordan, some pet owners are turning to holistic and alternative therapies like acupuncture, aromatherapy or massage to keep their animals healthy, living longer, mobile or to relieve chronic pain.

At the forefront are the growing numbers of massage therapists, who must be trained and licensed to work on people, but who are turning their attention to the unregulated arena of animal massage.

Hope LaMonica, a licensed massage therapist, offers a discount for her human clients who also bring their dog along for a massage.

LaMonica, who runs Dog Massage by Hope in Hollywood, Fla., meets with clients and canines from Delray Beach, Fla., to South Beach, Fla., sometimes as many as 10 dogs a week.

"More people are starting to understand the benefits," says LaMonica, who received pet-massage training through a one-week course at the International Association of Animal Massage & Bodywork.

By law, only a veterinarian can perform certain practices, such as acupuncture. But there is no licensing or regulation over who provides massage to animals. And that has veterinarians worried.

When done correctly, massage on animals can aid in relaxation and flexibility, relieve muscle pain and stiffness, and improve the body's circulation and digestive systems, similar to the benefits in people, therapists say. But pet owners should consult a veterinarian before starting massage or other alternative treatments.

"Massage therapy and energy healing and other alternative modalities are not a substitute for veterinary medicine," says Donnelly, a licensed massage therapist who completed a two-week training course in animal massage. A former veterinary technician, Donnelly now teaches classes in pet massage. "I work in tandem with the veterinary community. I believe there's a place for both."

If not done properly, massage can cause pain or a delay in medical treatment.

"Where does the line between veterinary medicine and alternative therapies begin and end?" asks Donald Schaefer, executive director of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association, which favors state regulation and educational requirements for animal-treatment providers. "Where is the line between helping the animal and exploiting the animal? We can't be made naive about this. There is money here to be made. ... The responsible pet owner has a veterinarian in the loop."

LaMonica says she will not work on a dog with a medical condition without the approval of a veterinarian.

"The vet is the first line of care. I'm there as an added benefit," says LaMonica, who is worried about pet groomers offering to do massage. "I can't groom my own dog. You wouldn't go to a plastic surgeon to have your teeth cleaned. If you're not trained, you can definitely hurt the animal."

Donnelly says she usually sees an animal after a pet owner has tried standard treatments. Her clients are about evenly split between people and pets, mostly dogs and cats. For a pet massage, Donnelly will typically charge $45 to $125, depending upon the length of the session and the animal's condition.

"I think (pet-massage therapists) should move toward a certification," Donnelly says. "We need to be trained. I believe that's not too far in the future."

Besides family pets, Donnelly works on animals at rescue shelters.

Last month, Donnelly brought an orphaned kitten to Dr. Gary Clarke, a veterinarian at Plantation Animal Hospital. The kitten's eyes and ears were covered in maggots, and Clarke didn't expect it to live.

Donnelly, who's caring for the kitten at home, uses massage to stimulate the circulatory and digestive systems and provide the touch it would normally receive from its mother.

"The use of touch for health and wellness is a universally recognized healing technique," Donnelly says. "This is the first thing a mother does to her baby. Animals groom each other. They groom their babies. They touch each other."

Clarke says massage therapy can help manage pain and shorten an animal's surgical recovery time, particularly those with arthritic or orthopedic conditions. Although pain management has become "more integrated" with an animal's overall care, the benefits of treatment like massage can be hard to measure, he says.

Connie Duque has tried alternative therapies like acupuncture and massage for her dog, Paco, a bichon frise with leg and knee problems. Paco, who is 13 years old and weighs nine pounds, was walking slowly and dragging his right hind leg when Donnelly came to see him.

"I was blown away," Duque says of Donnelly's massage therapy. "We sat on the couch. Paco slowly navigated over to Bonny. It was amazing to see how she reacted to whatever he was feeling. ... I would do it again in a heartbeat."