With great pleasure, the National Board of Certification for Animal Acupressure and Massage (NBCAAM) announces that Dr. Michael W. Fox recently accepted an Honorary Membership in the organization. Dr. Fox is renowned for being the pioneer in the field of animal massage and human-animal relationships.
Dr. Fox, veterinarian and author, has written over 40 books and currently writes the nationally syndicated newspaper column Animal Doctor. Between 1976 and 2002 he served in various positions with the Humane Society of the United States, including Scientific Director and Vice President for Bioethics and Sustainable Agriculture.
He earned his veterinary degree from the Royal Veterinary College, London, graduating in 1962. His subsequent research into animal behavior and development in the US was at the Jackson Memorial Research Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, and the Thudichum Psychiatric Research Institute, Galesburg IL. This work resulted in a dissertation entitled Integrative Development of the Brain and Behavior in the Dog (published in 1971 by the University of Chicago Press), that earned a PhD in Medicine from London University in 1967.
As Associate Professor of Psychology at Washington University, St Lois, MO, Dr. Fox continued behavioral and developmental studies in dogs, wolves and other related canids, for which he earned a DSc in animal behavior/ethology from London University in 1976.
The Healing Touch: The Proven Massage Program for Cats and Dogs by Dr. Fox, published in 1981, was one of the first texts on animal massage. Soon after this publication, he received certification as a human massage therapist from the State of California. He is widely recognized as an expert in animal emotions, rights, and well-being as well as human-animal relationships and rights, bioethics, biotechnology, humane, sustainable agriculture, and holistic health.
Dr. Fox is a member of the British Veterinary Association, the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Founding Member of the International Society for Applied Animal Ethology, and an Honor Roll member of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
NBCAAM, a not-for-profit organization, was created for the purpose of establishing and upholding professional standards for animal acupressure and massage practitioners. The method by which NBCAAM certifies that a practitioner has met these standards is by offering standardized national certification examinations. Taking the examination is entirely voluntary. Information and the requirements for taking the examinations are available on the website: www.nbcaam.org