When Julie lost her beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Keiko, she not only lost her best friend but she also lost a big part of her life. Keiko was a certified therapy dog. She and Julie had spent a lot of years visiting hospitals and participating in events to highlight pet therapy. Now Julie found herself on the outside looking in at what had been an important part of her life.
When Katie Greene was laid off from her IT job, she took it as a sign, a sign that she should pursue pet therapy with her rescue dog, Suki. Katie had a degree in music therapy and Suki was the most laidback people-loving dog in the universe—at least to Katie. Seemed like a perfect fit, so Katie and Suki, a blend of husky, border collie, and whatever else, began training.
You wouldn’t expect to see a dog in a library, but Aero, a perky little Papillion, is a regular visitor at the Reedley and Orange Cove branches of the Fresno County Public Library, he isn’t a seeing-eye dog with a harness; he wears a jaunty bandana and tags that identify him as a therapy dog, trained as a reading tutor.
While most senior facilities have always welcomed well-behaved dogs for family visits, over the last few decades pet visits have come to encompass a more structured program of pet assisted therapy involving strict standards for training and behavior.Therapy pets are now certified through a number of national and regional therapy pet organizations. Even the American Kennel Club, which had already established dog behavioral standards through its Canine Good Citizen certification, has recently established a program to recognize registered therapy dogs.
Since the holiday season is upon us, here are some great suggestions of gifts for your young ones! These books are fun for the kids, but also teach them about recycling, eating their vegetables, therapy dogs & more.
Kevin Costner danced with wolves. On television, there’s dancing with the stars. I danced with dogs at nursing homes, hospitals and special needs schools. Hollywood and ABC never called.
Fresno actor and director Karan Johnson has not only been a big part of the local theatre community for years, but also has a heart for animals—working not only with therapy dogs but also the local zoo.
I have loved dogs ever since I was a little girl, and find that they can often cheer me up when I am sad. My dogs are so full of love that I decided I wanted them to be able to share that love with others as well. This is what planted the idea of Dog Therapy work in my head.
