**NOTE:  NEPTA is currently closed and NOT taking new patients!! 

Sorry for the inconvenience. 

NEPTA is dedicated to providing physical therapy, hydrotherapy, massage, and exercise programs for animals with the goal of improving their lives. Just as people benefit from proper exercise, nutrition, massage, and physical therapy, so do your pets. Of course they do - it just makes sense! But, until recently, these principles were not routinely applied to animals. 

NEPTA aims to educate pet owners and veterinarians about the importance of physical therapy for the injured pet and the importance of proper exercise and wellness programs for the healthy pet.  NEPTA is committed to providing pet owners with the education and tools they require to provide the best physical therapy care possible for their pets, including extensive instruction on how to perform the daily physical thearpy at home and a vast array of home care solutions for pet owners struggling with an injured or handicapped pet. 

About the physical therapist

Julie Stuart, founder of NEPTA, is a licensed physical therapist with a Master of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Rhode Island. Julie began physical therapy school with the intention of treating only humans.  However, part way through graduate school, Julie's dog, Tucker (pictured above), taught her that animals need physical therapy too!  So, because of her passion for animals and Tucker's insistence, Julie chose to apply her physical therapy knowledge and skills to the animal patient population as well as to her human patients. Julie has served as a consultant to local veterinarians in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and surrounding areas since 2000.  She also works at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, where she has provided inpatient and outpatient physical therapy services for thousands of patients with a vast array of problems since 2001.  Julie was the second physical therapist in the country to be hired by a veterinary school. 

Julie has attended several courses and conferences related to animal physical therapy and she has presented her work and shared her unique knowledge and experience with physical therapists and veterinarians across the country and around the world.  Indeed, Julie is one of the most experienced canine physical therapists in the country.  When she first began treating animals, there were only a handful of physical therapists across the country who were working with dogs.  Since then, with the help of continuing education courses offered in canine physical therapy, the field has grown significantly.  However, Julie remains a leader in canine physical therapy and is the most experienced canine physical therapist in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island area. 

Name Change…

Julie began treating dogs in 2000 under the name Canine Rehabilitation Care. Soon there were requests to treat other species. So, in 2001, Julie changed her business name to New England Physical Therapy for Animals to reflect that she had broadened her services to include working with horses, cats, and other species. Julie continues to treat primarily dogs, but has also performed physical therapy on cats, horses, miniature horses, goats, llamas, and even a possum, wallabe, and a zebra!

How it all began…

Julie's interest in animal physical therapy developed from her own dog, Tucker. In 1998, he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at eight months of age and due to the severity of his condition, the vets anticipated that he would require a hip replacement after he was fully grown. Being a physical therapy student at the time, Julie knew that every person who undergoes a hip replacement has intensive physical therapy. And she knew that Tucker deserved the best treatment and care possible! Determined to learn enough to translate her physical therapy knowledge over to her dog's body, she began researching the field of animal physical therapy. Julie discovered that the animal physical therapy field was just emerging.  After taking her first course in canine physical therapy at the University of Tennessee veterinary school, Julie said, "That weekend was the best weekend of my life - it was the start of a new career path that involved the blending of my two passions!"  Since then, Julie took several canine physical therapy courses offered to physical therapists, did a tremendous amount of self-study, observed canine surgeries, and began treating dogs in 2000.  Tucker is now nine years old, runs daily, has very strong back legs, and minimal discomfort. He never needed surgery.