Chiropractic Treatment for Animals — It Is Fascinating to Watch [VIDEOS]

When I am need of my chiropractor, it's like, "GET OUT OF MY WAAAAAAYYYY!!" And then I get worked over and feel immensely better.

The first time my back ever went out, I was 29 years old, and I was literally on the floor and crawled to my boss's office and asked if I could leave and go to the chiropractor. I was in tears. It was awful.

FASCINATING ANIMAL CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENTS

So I absolutely feel for our four-legged friends who have the same issues. The thing is, until recently, I had no idea they could get that kind of help. And once I did, I was hooked. It is fascinating to watch.

While I was surprised to learn this medical specialty exists for the animal kingdom, I probably shouldn't have been. Mammals have spines, and spines need adjusting. It really just makes sense. What really surprised me was how cooperative these animals are during the process. This beautiful Rottweiler named Ruby was born with leg issues, and, at 9 years of age, those issues have created back problems.

RUBY THE ROTTWEILER

Dr. Doug Willen is the star of a series called Animal Cracker, and he doesn't just treat dogs. (Sadly, Ruby has since passed away from an aggressive lymphoma.)

We've all learned throughout our lives that pigs have a lot of traits they share with humans--heavy eyelashes, hairless skin, a propensity for sunburns. But did you know they can also suffer from TMJ? I can totally sympathize with poor Louie here, who has a range of issues troubling him--including TMJ.

THE PIG WITH TMJ AND OTHER ISSUES

DR. DOUG WILLEN -- HE'LL TAKE ALL SPINES

Dr. Doug, as he is known, is a licensed chiropractor. Yes, he works on us humans, too. But this New Yorker seems to have become the entire Big Apple's chiropractor; he can count Broadway performers, Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, TV producers, and members of the American Ballet Theater among his clients. And he's currently shopping around the networks for a place to land with Animal Cracker. I can't IMAGINE he'll come up empty-handed in this day and age of niche reality television. Who WOULDN'T want to see him bring figurative tears of joy to a horse's eyes?

DR. WILLEN AND A TROUBLED HORSE

I'd call him a brave soul, but it never looks like Dr. Doug even SUMMONS courage when he works on animals that I feel would give him a hard time. I mean, would YOU think a cat would put up with this?

CHIROPRACTIC FOR A CAT

It would. I mean, when you make one feel 100% better, you have a friend for life. It kind of reminds me of one of Aesop's fables, The Lion and the Mouse, where the mouse pulls a thorn out of the lion's paw and they become fast friends.

Also, I found his demonstration comparing a taut and twisted spinal cord (which sounds horrific) to a twisted towel. Dumb it down for me and you have a fan for life.

Oh, one more thing. I mentioned "our four-legged friends" earlier, but I should amend that to include our TWO-legged friends as well. I mean, look, chickens have back pain, too.

CHICKENS NEED TREATMENTS, TOO

If you've ever taken your pet to a chiropractor, I'd be interested to hear about it. In the meantime, I suddenly feel like stretching.

I probably have a little kink in my back. I guess I'll go stand in line behind the chickens, cats, and horses.