Get To Know Wisconsin's Premier Animal Chiropractor
Dr. Wayne Hietpas, D.C. | Serving the Fox Cities, WI Region | North Central Wisconsin | Southwestern Wisconsin
The first question many folks ask our Animal Chiropractor is, “How did you get started working on animals?”. It’s a fair question considering the term “animal chiropractor” isn’t something you probably hear every day. In fact, many people are not even aware of the many benefits their animals or pets could enjoy by employing the services of a chiropractic professional who specializes in treating patients of the four-legged variety. We believe this question is best answered by our Animal Chiropractor himself, Dr. Wayne Hietpas, D.C. Keep reading to learn more about his own personal and professional journey…
Animal Chiropractor Profile: Dr. Wayne Hietpas, D.C.
Dr. Wayne Hietpas, D.C.
In the early 1990’s while working on my doctorate in chiropractic I decided to get a dog. Her name was Trina and she was a yellow lab. She was the love of my life. Right around her age of two, I started to notice she wasn’t walking right and that the muscles around her head had started to waste away. At that time in my life I thought chiropractic could fix everything. Having heard about Dr. Sharon Willoughby from Port Byron, Illinois who was both a veterinarian and a chiropractor, I decided to take Trina to her to see what she had to say. The diagnosis was Trina had a rare muscle wasting disease carried on the gene for the yellow coat that acted just like multiple sclerosis. As you can imagine I was crestfallen. My logical question was, “what can we do to help her?”. Dr. Willoughby said we might try high doses of vitamin C, a raw food diet and consistent chiropractic adjustments. (Dr. Willoughby was one of the founders and developers of the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association.) So, I began training with Dr. Willoughby on how to analyze and adjust animals for the sole purpose of keeping after Trina’s condition. Having little desire to work with animals, I had no idea how that would change my life. I worked with Trina for two years, after which time she had made a full recovery and was essentially a normal dog again.
“I started to notice she wasn’t walking right and that the muscles around her head had started to waste away.”
By this point of Trina’s recovery, I was out of school and had set up my practice in a town along the shores of Lake Michigan. This was great for Trina as swimming in the lake became one of her favorite exercises. Each morning, I would let her out and often she took it upon herself to run across the street to take a dip in the lake. In the fall of 1994 I took her on her first bird hunting trip in the big woods of northern Wisconsin. Let me tell you, it was a magical trip hunting for grouse. The following Tuesday morning I let her out as usual, only this time she didn’t come back when I called her. I looked and called for her for hours. Finally, when I had given up the search and decided to go back home in hopes she would find her way back, I walked back to my house and noticed the city truck stopped in the intersection by my house. I went to see what they were doing and there was Trina, lying dead in the middle of the road. It was a hit and run. So, I collected her up and took her home to bury her. All the time and work put into achieving a full recovery, taking her on her first hunting trip as a normal dog and then to lose her so senselessly was baffling to me.
By this point of Trina’s recovery, I was out of school and had set up my practice in a town along the shores of Lake Michigan. This was great for Trina as swimming in the lake became one of her favorite exercises. Each morning, I would let her out and often she took it upon herself to run across the street to take a dip in the lake. In the fall of 1994 I took her on her first bird hunting trip in the big woods of northern Wisconsin. Let me tell you, it was a magical trip hunting for grouse. The following Tuesday morning I let her out as usual, only this time she didn’t come back when I called her. I looked and called for her for hours. Finally, when I had given up the search and decided to go back home in hopes she would find her way back, I walked back to my house and noticed the city truck stopped in the intersection by my house. I went to see what they were doing and there was Trina, lying dead in the middle of the road. It was a hit and run. So, I collected her up and took her home to bury her. All the time and work put into achieving a full recovery, taking her on her first hunting trip as a normal dog and then to lose her so senselessly was baffling to me.
Somehow the word got out that I knew how to work on animals as well as people. Slowly I started receiving calls to work on occasional dogs and horses. In the mid to late 90’s there were only a handful of people performing chiropractic on animals in the state of Wisconsin. Naturally as good results came in from the work I was doing, word spread and I got more and more calls. I would work all week in the clinic and go out on the weekends taking care of animals. Each case was a new set of problems and a new challenge to figure out. Utilizing the training I received from Dr. Willoughby and constantly consulting the veterinary anatomy and neurology text books, I forged ahead, developing techniques and treatment protocols for the animals. “Time on the water” truly is the greatest teacher if one only pays attention, asks the right questions, and never assumes one has “arrived.”
“I forged ahead, developing techniques and treatment protocols for the animals.”
Each loving pet and companion comes into our lives and has something to teach us. I have had and lost many such animals in my life. I have walked with many owners who have said the same thing. What I have figured out over time is I like being out and about much more than being cooped up in an office. So presently all I do is work with animals. There is never a week that goes by that I am not figuring out a new problem and coming up with new solutions. Some cases we lose, but many more we win and the animals are much better for it. I truly love my work and can thank Trina for the lesson she brought into my life.