Classes with Sheila
Sheila is the founder and CEO of Wellsprings-K9. She created Wellsprings-K9 specifically to enhance the quality of dogs lives through licensed small animal massage, focused exercise and numerous modalities of body work and rehabilitation techniques.She has been teaching these techniques to others since 1997. Several of her students have gone on to open their own swim therapy pools, work at other pools, and or work with dogs in other healing capacities practicing what they have learned from Sheila.
Sheila believes that by sharing her knowledge and skills with others that many more dogs and their owners will benefit from what she has created over the years. Her hope is that her past students will go on to help dogs live better quality of lives and teach what they learned from her to many others on their healing journeys.
If you are interested in taking classes from Sheila, you may contact her at Quinn189@comcast.net
In 2001 I went to Sheila Wells' facility, Wellsprings K9 to do some training with her. First off, I was very impressed with the facility. I was surprised and impressed as to how she custom made the pool and equipment to acomidate all sizes of dogs. She had a hoist and pulley system in- situ that allowed very large dogs who were immobile to be picked up via a sling she had made, and be transported easily into the pool with just the push of a button. I was amazed at the various techniques she had invented to rehabilitate dogs of varying neurological status's. She has many talents and techniques to restore quality of life to these dogs. There was a very large Labrador Retriever dog who came 3 times per week who was an in-patient at the hospital where he'd had a complicated neurosurgery for several fractured vertebrae and a damaged spinal cord he'd suffered in a motor vehicle accident. Sheila was most excellent with him and the vet technicians who brought him to his appointments, as she was with all the dogs i saw her work with. He eventually walked again. It seems that whether your dog is recovering from a simple knee surgery, old age immobility, arthritis, obesity neuromuscular issues, soft tissue injury's, orthopedic issues, pre and post op surgery and congenital issues. Sheila was able to find a way to return some type of quality to the dog and in turn the owner's life. She explained everything that she was doing with her patients to myself and the owners in great detail. She was very gentle with the dogs and their owners, yet demonstrated a strong confident sense that she was in control of the situation and knew exactly what she was doing and why. I saw time after time the animals and their owners relax and breathe around Sheila's calming presence after coming in nervous and anxious in discomfort of one type or another. She is very skilled at reading people and dogs alike. Very compassionate. She was an excellent instructor. Thoroughly explaining techniques to me and then demonstrating on the patients she worked with. I was pretty impressed to say the least of Sheila's teaching skills and techniques. She mostly taught herself taking from all things she'd learned from her past training and job experiences. She worked as a Race Horse Rehabilitation Assistant, Vet Technician, Registered Nurse, Forensic Autopsy Technician and is a Licensed Massage Therapist for both humans and small animals. Sheila was instrumental in lobbying to have the animal massage endorsement passed by the massage board in Washington state back in the early 2000's. She is a genuinely amazing therapist and teacher. The other thing that really stuck out for me was that Sheila has absolutely no ego associated with what she has accomplished. She is so willing to share what she has learned and is eager to always learn whatever she can in order to help the dogs, and is so willing to share her knowledge. She is very unassuming and humble about her skills. I felt confident after training with Sheila for 8 weeks that I could incorporate the techniques she taught me into my own Veterinarian practice. Thank you Sheila. You truly are one of a kind and it was a sincere pleasure to train and learn with you. I can highly recommend to anyone interested in this field of medicine if you get a chance to train with Sheila. Jump on it.
Long ago, while teaching in the Seattle area, I met a gifted healer, Sheila Wells. Her background was impressive - she is an RN in rehab, a vet tech, licensed human massage therapist and licensed small animal massage therapist. This all combined with her great intelligence, gifted hands and huge heart to make an unforgettable human. Sheila and her Wellsprings-K9 have served so many dogs, ranging from deeply beloved companions to hard working, invaluable police K-9s and SAR K-9s, helping them come back to health from so many problems. A forerunner in the field of physical therapy for animals, Sheila has put in countless hours over the years, accumulating even more skill & knowledge. And at every step, she has been generous in making sure that those owners who struggled to bear the cost of physical therapy were helped -- this is who Sheila is, a big hearted healer with a kind soul and hands quick to give comfort & help as needed.
Warm water therapy and massage, which is now a given in the world of canine veterinary care, was pioneered by our very own Sheila Wells. Everyone in the dog loving community in our region has her to thank for creating an entirely new modality of canine rehabilitative care in 1995. If your dog is benefiting from therapeutic warm water massage and swimming, or if you yourself are a practitioner, it is because my friend and hero Sheila Wells had the vision, courage, and commitment to create this specialty many years ago. An RN in rehab, a vet tech, a licensed human massage therapist, and a licensed small animal massage therapist, Sheila’s stellar background and expertise are only exceeded by her compassion for dogs and the people who love them. Multiple veterinarians, including the region’s top orthopedic specialists, many, many police K9 officers, professional detection dog trainers and handlers like myself, dog breeders, conformation and sport dog owners, and untold loving companion dog owners have an enormous debt of gratitude to this humble and dedicated professional healer for the miracles she has made possible for countless dogs over the years. Now, Sheila needs our help to expand and update her facility and equipment so that she can bring even more healing to our dogs. Please join me in supporting her. People like Sheila so rarely ask for the help that they need…let us step up now to help Wellsprings continue its very important work. Thank you for your consideration.
We have been using Wellsprings-K9 services a few years now for our two aging Akitas, one aged 16 and the other 13. Akitas are not natural swimmers, but thanks to Sheila and her staff the therapy they have received has been nothing but positive and most beneficial in maintaining the health and mobility for our dogs.