The Northwest School of Animal Massage was founded in 2001 in response to the growing demand for approved training programs in canine massage and equine massage in the State of Washington. Today, students seek out our programs from every state in the country and across the globe.
NWSAM was founded on three guiding principles:
To foster compassion for the animal community
To support a higher standard of practice within our industry
To nurture the continued growth of our student body
Our faculty members are highly regarded professionals with extensive fieldwork and teaching experience. Each faculty member brings their own unique approach to the classroom and supports our online community.
Our main campus is located at Paxhia Farm, our equine retirement and rehabilitation farm on Vashon Island, WA. In addition we partner with several animal organizations around the country, including Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and several state humane societies. Our instructors have taught in Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico and Canada. Most recently we partnered with ASIS, a group of massage schools in Arizona.
When you join the NWSAM family, you become part of a group dedicated to serving the animal, the profession and the industry.
The school offers blended learning certification courses in animal massage, acupressure and aromatic sciences, with advanced courses for performance massage and rehabilitation massage. For the animal owner and professional alike, we offer short workshops in a range of topics, including our exclusive Manual Ligament Therapy training. We are proud to host the Horse Temperament Typing course for Dr. Madalyn Ward DVM and the Equi-Tape Kinesiology Tape hands-on training.
NWSAM is an Approved Provider for the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Board of Massage and NCBTMB. Our programs are recognized by NBCAAM and ABMP. We are licensed through the Washington Workforce Training and Educational Certification Board (WWTECB)as a private vocational school.
LEGAL PRACTICE IN YOUR JURISDICTION: It is the student’s responsibility to obtain information regarding legal requirements for the practice and study of animal massage in their locale.*
The School is licensed under Chapter 28C.10. Inquiries or complaints regarding this or any other private career school may be made to the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, 128 10th Avenue SW, Olympia, WA 980504-3105 ((360) 753-5673).