Minneapolis, MN
Should I massage my older dog? This Minneapolis masseuse says yes. And she can teach you how to do it.
After a taxing day of snoozing on the couch, sniffing hydrants and lunging at squirrels, my best friend Jenny needed a massage.
The fact that Jenny is a dog wasn’t an obstacle thanks to Heidi Hesse, a Minneapolis resident and owner of Sound Hound Canine Massage.
If anyone could teach me how to rub Jenny the right way, it would be Hesse.
Canine massage isn’t just the latest pet perk. It can help improve flexibility and movement or alleviate joint or muscle pain for a dog suffering from ailments like arthritis. It can boost the immune system and help with healing and reduce scar tissue after surgery, Hesse said. It can even reduce stress or separation anxiety.
“Some dogs just don’t know how to relax,” she said.
Since she started her business in 2016, most of her clients — from dachshunds to Great Pyrenees — have been older dogs, although she once got booked to give a dog a massage as a treat for its fourth birthday.
Unlike many of Hesse’s clients, Jenny doesn’t have a health or behavioral issues that I was trying to fix. I was just interested in keeping my 9-year-old, 40-pound, mixed-breed rescue dog mobile as she ages. I decided to learn some massage techniques that I could practice with Jenny while we’re loafing on the couch watching Netflix.
“There’s a lot more involved than just petting,” said Hesse, a graduate of the Chicago School of Canine Massage and certified with the National Board of Certification for Animal Acupressure and Massage. “It’s a great way to bond with your dog.”
You may not have heard of animal massage, but it’s been around for decades. As with humans, it’s used to help with injuries and promote recovery and performance among athletes — racehorses and dog agility competitors.
The “father of animal massage,” according to Hesse, was sports masseuse Jack Meagher, who massaged pro football players and equestrian competition horses back in the 1970s. He wrote books about preventing injuries to two- and four-footed runners.
Now Hesse, who had a long career as a sound engineer for film and television, offers one-on-one hourlong massages for dogs in their homes ($70 plus tax and possible travel charges). She also has been teaching basic dog massage through Minneapolis Community Education and St. Paul Parks and Recreation.
What it’s like
When she came to my house, Hesse asked about Jenny’s health and history. At 9, my dog isn’t young, but she’s still pretty spry.
Hesse brought a pad that dogs can lie on for a massage, but it was easier to have Jenny stay where she spends most of the day: on the couch.
Hesse started playing “Through a Dog’s Ear” on her phone. It’s a collection of slow, lower-octave piano pieces that are supposed to be particularly calming for canines.
Then, she kneaded Jenny’s pectoral muscles and stroking what she called the “sea of tranquillity” acupoint on her sternum.
“It’s a nice calming point,” Hesse said.
Hesse also stroked the calming “yin tang” acupoint between Jenny’s eyes before moving on to long, slow, circular strokes, cross fiber friction on the sides of the neck, compression on the triceps and biceps, circular friction on the sides of the torso and mild shoulder blade rocking to stretch the trapezius muscles.
“It’s a little tight in the neck, but not significantly so,” Hesse said as she worked.
She used her fingers to vibrate and stimulate Jenny’s hamstrings and pressed on an acupressure point on her ankle.
“This is great for hind end weakness,” Hesse said.
Then she showed me how to do “ear glides,” slow, soothing strokes along the ears that help calm and relax dogs.
We finished up with petrissage — rolling and kneading the skin — which Hesse said is helpful for the fascia connective tissue.
For the most part, Jenny seemed to like her massage. Sometimes she wiggled with pleasure. Sometimes her eyelids drooped like she was about to fall asleep. Other times, she interrupted the massage to sneeze, yawn, lick her groin or give Hesse a kiss. Once she jumped off the couch to give some affection to the photographer.
Afterward, Hesse gave me a report about what she observed in Jenny with information like “Latissimus dorsi (large fan muscle on side of torso) mildly tight with stringy trigger point in the right latissimus dorsi.”
Hesse said Jenny seemed more comfortable than most dogs getting their first massage. In general, I think she just enjoyed the attention.
Hesse said if I wanted to try some massage myself, I should make sure to keep my movements slow and do a little bit at a time, five to 10 minutes every other day to start.
“The more she gets used to the massage, the more she will allow,” Hesse said.
I wouldn’t say Jenny was a changed dog after her first massage. (After Hesse was done, Jenny went right back to napping.) But she did seem to enjoy the special dog treat Hesse gave her for being such a good girl.
Minneapolis, MN
BCA identifies armed suspect, Minneapolis officer who fired shots at him
The armed man and an officer who fired shots at him in Minneapolis last week have been identified by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
The BCA identified the suspect as 26-year-old Hanun Mohamed Awow and the Minneapolis police officer who fired his gun as Ariel Luna Sanchez.
Sanchez has three years of law enforcement experience and has been placed on critical incident leave, the BCA said.
Minneapolis police officer shoots at armed man, BCA investigating: MPD
According to the BCA, officers responded around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday to a 911 call from a resident on the 3000 block of Fifth Avenue South, who said a neighbor had pointed a gun at their mom.
The caller told Minneapolis police that the neighbor, later identified as Awow, had a handgun and went back into his apartment. Officers went to Awow’s apartment and he opened the door and stepped out with a gun in his hand.
Police shouted for him to drop the gun and that’s when Sanchez fired shots, the BCA says.
Awow, who was not injured, was taken into custody by police. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said last week that he believed Awow was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun from the scene and body cameras worn by officers.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis man is third convicted in Coon Rapids triple murder
An Anoka County jury has found guilty the last of three defendants in last year’s fatal shootings of a woman, her son and husband after he and two accomplices posed as UPS delivery drivers and went into the family’s Coon Rapids home looking for money.
Omari Malik Shumpert, 20, of Minneapolis, was convicted Friday in Anoka County District Court of three counts of aiding and abetting first-degree murder in the Jan. 26, 2024, killings of Shannon Patricia Jungwirth, 42, her son Jorge Alexander Reyes-Jungwirth, 20, and her husband, Mario Alberto Trejo Estrada, 39.
Shumpert fatally shot Estrada after he fought back, prosecutors said.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 9, a day after his older brother Demetrius Trenton Shumpert will go before a judge for sentencing.
Jurors previously convicted Demetrius Shumpert, 33, of Minneapolis, and Alonzo Pierre Mingo, who prosecutors said orchestrated the robbery plan and pulled the trigger in the killings of Jungwirth and Reyes-Jungwirth.
Mingo, 39, of Fridley, was sentenced to life in prison in September.
Mingo, a former UPS seasonal employee, wore his old uniform while carrying a box to convince Jungwirth that he was delivering a package, prosecutors said.
Several surveillance cameras were mounted throughout the house in the 200 block of 94th Avenue Northwest. Video showed Demetrius Shumpert and Mingo forcing Jungwirth to open credenza drawers while demanding money.
All three victims were shot in the head, and two of the killings were on video. Two small children, both under the age of 5, were also in the home at the time of the killings but not injured.
Court records said Estrada was suspected of drug trafficking and that law enforcement was on his trail in the days leading up to the killings. Afterward, investigators searched a Golden Valley storage unit that Estrada had rented under a false name and seized three bags of white powder, seven bags of psilocybin mushrooms, three bags of marijuana and a bag of meth, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis College teams up with Toys for Tots to provide holiday gifts for student parents
For many student parents at Minneapolis College, the holiday season arrives during one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year.
Final exams, work schedules and family responsibilities often collide in December. This week, a Toys for Tots giveaway on campus offered some relief.
The college partnered with the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program to provide gifts exclusively for student parents. School officials say more than 145 student parents signed up for the event, representing nearly 270 children.
Veronica Krawiec is a nursing student at Minneapolis College and the mother of a young son, Christopher. She said balancing school, work and parenting can be overwhelming, especially around the holidays.
Krawiec said she was able to find a Lego set her son specifically asked for this Christmas, something she was not sure she would be able to afford on her own.
She said the support she receives on campus has made a significant difference, pointing to resources like the Student Support Center and food pantry. Krawiec said those services help her focus on school without feeling ashamed for asking for help.
“As a mom most of the time I feel like I’m failing but like this this helps me a lot to not feel as bad,” she said.
Sharita Jackson, a first semester addiction counseling student and single mother of two, also attended the giveaway. She said resources like the Toys for Tots event help ease some of the pressure that comes with being a student parent.
Minneapolis College staff say the need among student parents has grown this year, in some cases doubling. The college estimates nearly 20% of its students are parents, and more than 70% of students identify as Indigenous or people of color, international, low income or first generation.
In addition to holiday giveaways, the college offers a Student Parent Center, a food pantry, basic needs support and access to housing, financial and veterans resources. Staff say those services are designed to help students stay enrolled and succeed while raising families.
College officials say events like the Toys for Tots giveaway help reduce stress during the holidays and allow student parents to focus on finishing the semester strong.
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