My story of becoming a canine physical therapist

Welcome to Canine PT and Me! This has been a dream of mine for over a year now. Let me explain a little bit more about how my business came to be. And, I will expand a bit on how I became a canine physical therapist.

I’m Dr. Kelsey Jonas, PT, DPT, CCRT. I started my career thinking that I wanted to be a sports physical therapist and I wanted to work with athletes for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I got burnt out from working with people within my first year of practicing physical therapy. Somewhere along the way in PT school, one of my classmates had mentioned in a passing comment. She said “hey, did you know that you can do physical therapy for dogs?!” That had always stuck in the back of my head and when I was feeling so incredibly burnt out, I remembered that comment. Therefore, that’s when I decided to do some research on dog physical therapy.

The transition to canine physical therapist

In 2019 I came across Canine Rehab Institute (CRI) in Florida and decided to change directions in my career. Subsequently, I took all of my coursework, completed my exams and internship to become a certified canine rehabilitation therapist (CCRT). Prior to completing my CRI coursework though, I was encouraged by my mentor to pursue my own business and become an entrepreneur. This idea had never occurred to me, nor was it remotely on my radar for my future. So, I decided to take additional courses on the side. This allowed me to build my own business and in December 2019, Canine PT and Me was established!

With the establishment of this business, I knew I would have a huge opportunity as a canine physical therapist to serve the senior dog population in Portland, Oregon. So, my goal is to help senior dogs enhance their independence with every day activities. Then they can lead a healthy, active lifestyle without pain. If you or anyone you know has a dog that’s experiencing difficulty on walks, going up and down the stairs, jumping on/off the couch, or just showing signs of aging and slowing down, I would love to work with them and their pup to improve the dog’s strength and function.

~Canine PT and Me team