Ruff Day Vet

Acupuncture + Rehabilitation
Physical + Cognitive Fitness for Pets
Education + Coaching for Humans

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Minimize Pain. Maximize Mobility. Improve Function.

Welcome to Ruff Day Veterinary Acupuncture and Rehabilitation

My name is Dr. Heather Misener, and I am a veterinarian that provides the South Puget Sound region of Washington State with acupuncture, rehabilitation and fitness services. I am privileged to provide therapies and services that decrease pain, improve mobility, speed healing, and maximize quality of life for our canine and feline companions.

We invite you to get comfortable, ask questions, collaborate with us, have fun, and take an active role in your pet’s health and recovery!
Read more about Ruff Day’s story here

Ruff Day’s Services at a Glance

Dr. Heather helps dogs engage their mind and body to navigate a fun and challenging obstacle course — **“Part playground, part day spa, and all tail wags.”**

Located just over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is our space that is designed to be part playground, part day spa, and all tail wags. Learn more about why dogs and their human partners (and even some cats) love us!

**Medicine built on Trust**

We are practitioners of physical medicine, meaning we utilize energy-based therapies that engage the patient’s own innate healing mechanisms to take action.Trust between patient, owner and staff are all required to provide high quality medicine, and requires all who are involved to be active participants. This is why we use nothing but positive reinforcement techniques to help convince our 4-legged patient that they want to participate in their own healing. The best part of this type of medicine is that pets are usually dragging their owners to our front door in anticipation of every exciting treatment they are about to experience!

**Acupuncture, Manual Therapy, and Body Stimulation Treatments**

Many people are aware of the extensive benefits of dog and cat acupuncture, including pain relief, anxiety reduction, and improved nerve function. We also use cold laser, massage, PEMF, electroacupuncture, TENS, shock wave, and other therapies to offer a full range of synergistic treatments.
Learn more about pet acupuncture here.

**Shock Wave Treatments**

Shock Wave Therapy uses high-energy sound waves to stimulate and speed the body’s own healing process. Unlike other Shock Wave devices, our PulseVet unit requires no sedation (making it a safe option for senior and geriatric pets who may have medical sensitivities to anesthetic drugs), and is proven to help relieve pain, reduce lameness, and increase mobility in dogs and cats.

**Exercise-Based Therapies**

Rehabilitation therapy can be thought of as Physical Therapy for pets. At Ruff Day, we use exercise to not only build fitness, strength, and confidence in our patients, but we also use therapeutic exercises to treat injuries that affect your best friend’s mobility! Whether your dog is young and healthy, a senior with many mobility restrictions, or somewhere in the middle, we can create a plan that is fun, healthy, and rewarding!
Find out more!

**Strength and Conditioning**

One of the best insurance policies is building a healthy musculoskeletal system to prevent muscle wasting and degeneration. It’s also a great way to increase healthspan and lifespan, because a strong body enables a healthy mind by allowing for growth and emotional fortitude.

**Client Education and Coaching**

Oftentimes, it is challenging to find high-quality information to navigate the healthcare system, or even just sift through the jargon to understand the complexities of a furry loved one’s medical condition(s). We strive to provide our clients with easy to access informational materials, and clearly designate any items that are tied to sources of profit for us to maintain transparency.
Gaining high-quality information about your pet can empower you to provide better care and ultimately enable them to live their best life with you. We invite you to join us in our pursuit of knowledge and building capacity for ways that we can improve quality of life, big and small.

Ruff Day success stories from happy pet owners

Amanda T’s experience with Rizzo’s neurological condition

“...my 9 year old dachshund (Rizzo) was diagnosed with IVDD and quickly lost his ability to walk.... I wish I could go into great detail about Rizzo's recovery but I'm happy to say he is now walking, running, and is completely pain free. In addition, he is 100% off all of his pain medication. Thanks to Heather, I feel I got my best friend back and he is no longer in pain.... She is hands down THE reason Rizzo is still with us today and we will always be thankful for her coming into our lives. We love you Heather 🖤”

Larissa’s experience with Remi’s back pain

My experience through Ruff Day has been nothing short of outstanding. Dr. Misener has been there for me every step of the way on getting my corgi back to his normal self. She explains everything thoroughly in each appointment and takes the time to make sure my dog is comfortable. She has been a huge reason as to why my corgi’s back is doing much better. Highly recommend to everybody I know and I cannot thank her enough for helping Remi these last few months!

Amanda M’s experience with her labrador’s orthopedic condition

Highly recommend Heather and Ruff Day! Heather has been working with my big lab for a few months, and he is responding really well to the treatments--he has an easier time getting up and moving around and is more energetic on his walks. This is a great option for pets that can't take NSAIDS for arthritis! Thank you, Heather!