A Rockville massage therapist wants to ply her trade with animals — and has gone to court to do so legally.
Mercedes Clemens filed a lawsuit in Montgomery County Circuit Court to allow her to massage animals, which the state veterinary board says can be done by only a government-licensed veterinarian.
The lawsuit was filed last month against the Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and the state Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners. Sue duPont, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, which oversees the veterinary board, said last week that officials were reviewing the lawsuit and had no comment on it.
An official who identified himself on the phone as Christopher and deputy director of the chiropractic board declined to comment on the lawsuit. He also declined to give his last name. Christopher Kelter is listed on the board’s Internet site as its deputy director.
Clemens said she started practicing animal massage in Maryland in 2006, as the veterinary board earlier indicated it did not have a problem with that. But the board issued Clemens a cease-and-desist order in February, claiming she needed a veterinary license to massage horses and other animals, she said.
‘‘I can do human massage without being a doctor,” Clemens said. ‘‘It seems a little ridiculous to have to be a veterinarian to do animal massage.”
Animal massage accounted for about half her business, Clemens said. ‘‘That had a big impact on my business,” she said.
There is strong interest in Maryland in animal massage among massage therapists, Clemens said. She knows of others who received cease-and-desist orders but did not know of anyone else who had filed a lawsuit.
Clemens is represented by the Institute for Justice, an Arlington, Va., public interest law firm. The institute has similar litigation pending in Texas, where the group is challenging a law that prohibits anybody but veterinarians from filing down horses’ teeth.
Last week, a Minnesota court ruled against another institute client who sued in a horse teeth filing case there, saying he needed to attend veterinary college. Institute attorney Paul Sherman said the group is reviewing whether to appeal the case.
A hearing on Clemens’ case is scheduled for September, Sherman said. The chiropractic board is a defendant because it threatened to revoke Clemens’ license if she did not stop animal massage, he said.
This report originally appeared in The Business Gazette.
