Hero German Shepherd

A mom’s reaction to being reunited with her lost child – found by Küsse, a German Shepherd rescue dog – was to smother both with kisses and hugs.

Indeed, the name Kusse – German for “kisses” – fits Corey Speegle’s rescue dog to a “T.” With her innate ability to find lost people, Küsse has earned huge praise during her short career.

Nearly half a million dog lovers across the country have cast their votes for Küsse, one of three semi-finalists for the American Humane Search and Rescue Hero Dog prize. Küsse and Speegle live in Sheffield, Alabama, and she’s the only dog representing the Yellowhammer State. Supporters can vote for Kusse once a day through July 16.

Speegle got Küsse as a pup and began training her at a year old. Küsse’s innate ability to find individuals has primed her to win the national contest this fall, which concludes with a gala and a two-hour special on the Hallmark Channel. She’s among the competition’s top three Search and Rescue dogs. Other categories include Therapy Dogs; Service Dogs; Military Dogs; Law Enforcement Dogs; Shelter Dogs; and Guide/Hearing Dogs.

“Küsse is a beautiful dog, and she loves to serve and help find missing people,” said Speegle, state coordinator for the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons and a volunteer firefighter for Spring Valley and White Oak Volunteer Fire departments. “Her mother is a German Shepherd from the Czech Republic and the father is a second-generation explosives dog out of Fort Hood, Texas.”

Speegle has trained with the Federal Emergency Management Association, and he and Küsse have completed numerous search and rescue classes.

“I’ve taken advanced building search classes through detection services, and I’ve had boat training to locate bodies in the water,” Speegle said.

He’s accustomed to receiving calls for help from Colbert County Sheriff Frank Williamson. On March 4, Speegle and Küsse were called to work search and reconnaissance efforts in Cookeville, Tennessee, after a powerful EF4 tornado decimated the town in the early morning. Cookeville is the county seat of Putnam County, 79 miles east of Nashville.

“Küsse and I worked for hours on end to help find survivors and bring closure to families with missing loved ones,” said Speegle, who volunteers with the White Oak Volunteer Fire Department’s K-9 Search and Rescue crew. The team also uses highly trained cadaver dogs.

“It was like a bomb went off there,” he said. “We stayed until the last person was accounted for – it wasn’t pretty, as you can imagine.” Despite their round-the-clock search March 4-6, Küsse and Speegle found no survivors among the 27 people missing.

Speegle trained Küsse with the “recall/refind” method.

“I say, ‘show me,’ and she will return to me and lead me to the person,” he said. “When she finds somebody, she gets her purple kong wubba, her favorite toy in the whole world.”

“The new thinking is you don’t want the dog to bark at someone and scare them, so she’s trained to find them and, depending on the distance, she returns to me and makes me know she found them,” he said.

Speegle uses a handheld detection module linked to Küsse’s GPS-monitored collar, which can track her up to 9 miles.

“Occasionally, with small children, the dog won’t leave the child,” he said. “It will lay down and stay with the subject, so we can still track where the dog is.

“She also does scent article finds,” Speegle said. “Küsse locates a person using a scent article – a sock, hat or shirt, for instance.

“Küsse will work on- or off-lead,” he said. “If you have someone lost in a national forest, she can use that scent to find them.”

Küsse recently helped in the search for a 20-year-old marathon runner from Colbert County near Muscle Shoals, Alabama, whose family reported him missing.

“He’d gone running in the evening and it had stormed all night,” Speegle said. “We tracked him 200 to 300 yards but Küsse lost his scent because of the rain. But she assisted law enforcement to go in the right direction to find him.”

Using video, the sheriff tracked the man’s run. The marathoner had been caught in the storm and sheltered overnight in the field house at Muscle Shoals High School. He borrowed a phone the next morning to call his parents.

Colbert County Commissioner Darol Bendall asked Speegle to locate unmarked historic graves at the historic LaGrange Cemetery in Leighton, Alabama. He and Küsse volunteered a weekend in April.

“The ancestors would like to know where they’re at – it’s rough terrain,” said Speegle, who assisted other members of the LaGrange Living History Association. “There are probably 100 graves that are unaccounted for, some of which date to 1815.”

The project was an excellent training opportunity. Speegle, Küsse and his other dogs located nine lost gravesites. During the years,  headstones for a man and his wife, dating to the 1800s, had been moved about 50 yards from their resting place. Volunteers reset the headstones properly. Other graves were found outside the cemetery.

“My cadaver dog found an unmarked grave in a wooded area,” he said.

During the work, a volunteer’s child went missing.

“This little 6-year-old girl had wandered off 200 to 300 yards,” Speegle said. “Küsse found her at the back of the cemetery, at the wood line. It was a little scary for all of us.”

Speegle finds a lot of satisfaction in helping others.

“There was no happy ending in Tennessee, but finding the little girl was a good one,” he said. “Küsse is at the beginning of her career. I hope she serves her community well. If she wins in her overall category, I will be one proud daddy.”

2020 Therapy Dogs

 

Graduation is being celebrated by many, but one special group hasn’t been able to show Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Seniors how much they mean to them– until now.

Therapy dogs have had a large presence on campus since the horrific tragedy on February 14, 2018.

The four organizations assisting the school are Canine Assisted Therapy, Paws Assistance Dog, Share-A-Pet, and the Humane Society of Broward Assisted Therapy.

According to Lori Bale of Canine Assisted Therapy, the organizations work with the Broward County school district on what the needs are. Sometimes, they visit MSD on Therapy dog Thursdays, and other times, they want an extra presence for occasions like code red drills, and the commemoration of the tragedy.

Currently, the dogs can only be seen on virtual visits, which is why their handlers want the seniors to know they haven’t forgotten about graduation.

“The graduates at MSD have been through so much, and we didn’t feel like they got the year they deserved,” said Bale, “We just wanted to do something to congratulate them and tell them we love them.”

She spoke to fellow volunteer Donna Levy, from Share-A-Pet, to brainstorm how they could support the senior class with everything going on, and they decided to put together a zoom to seek advice from the other handlers.

On the call, Tiffany Aaron, who handles therapy animal “Patches the pig,” volunteered her daughter Emily, a Cooper City rising senior, to put together a video.

Emily, who is also mom to Lulu, a former greyhound racer with only three legs, received photos from each of the handlers, and put together a congratulatory video featuring each of the therapy dogs with heartfelt messages.

With some collaboration among the therapy dog handlers, as well as a little help from photoshop, the dogs appearing in the video are River, Molly, Fergie, Schooner, Lulu, Daisy, Rosie, Jessie, Lila, Annie, Coral, Lexie, Emma, Rocky, Addie, Skipper, Shelby, Ripley, Kol, Sophie, Chief, Hammer, Teddy, Astro, Sammy, Duncan, Lola, Grace, and Patches the Pig.

They wanted the video to focus on the graduates, so they kept the dog handlers out of the pictures, and just showed the animals, some students, and school staff.

Principal Michelle Kefford sent the video out through social media.

“We just want to make sure we get it out there, and all the seniors see it,” said Bale, “On behalf of the therapy dogs, “Fly high Eagles, we will miss you! Congratulations, MSD Class of 2020.”

Story Of A Loving Therapy Dog

Almost a year had passed since the death of my beloved 14-year-old Scooby-Doo, an exuberant 70-pound shepherd mix, adopted from the SPCA in 2002. Newly retired from a health care management and teaching career, I started looking for a dog with thoughts about doing pet therapy work.

I found Buster on the internet at a shelter in Cuba, N.Y. A handsome 15-month-old, 35-pound hound mix, his size and temperament profile seemed right. I completed a detailed application (including veterinarian and neighbor’s references) and appointed to meet him at the shelter, but without guaranteed approval. The shelter director was not subtle about the discrepancy between my age and Buster’s. With a signed agreement  to return Buster if I became unable to care for him, on Nov. 4, 2016, I brought Buster to his new home in Clarence.

I quickly learned that Buster was gentle and kind with no hint of aggression. But he had terrible “demons.” Airplane noises overhead and the sound of cars on my street left him shaking. The sight of my 6-foot-tall brother dropped him to the floor in submission. I hoped that with time, his fears would dissipate. But after several weeks, I knew that Buster’s demons were squelching an otherwise positive temperament and would be the death-knell to any hope for therapy work. I engaged a behavioral dog trainer to work with us at home.

The trainer assessed Buster as highly intelligent, but as equally devoid of self-confidence. With a training regimen to gain self-confidence, we sat in my driveway while cars passed and planes flew overhead as I doled out treats with reassuring words. I trained daily on obedience commands. The trainer visited periodically to monitor progress.

At her last home visit, she remarked, “It was like watching a flower open,” as Buster transitioned from shy and scared into an outgoing and utterly engaging dog. Months of effort worked: the demons fled. Six months later, Buster earned “AKC Canine Good Citizen” certification and completed agility training to gain more self-confidence. Finally, Buster completed training for health care facility work. Within a year, Buster earned SPCA Serving Erie County Paws for Love therapy dog certification. The rest is wondrous history.

Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Erie County Medical Center, Eastern Niagara Lockport Hospital and five assisted living facilities approved our volunteer therapy dog service. From his first day on the job, Buster engaged with tail-wagging enthusiasm as we traversed hallways, medical units, patient and resident rooms. For over two years we maintained weekly visit schedules. With his gentle, happy demeanor, staff, visitors, patients and residents welcomed us. Buster found his work and with it, significant purpose for his dog’s life.

Wearing his “Pet Me” harness, his trick repertoire – jumps through a mini hula-hoop I carried on our visits, roll-overs, and “hospital bark” (a quiet snuff) – yielded delighted smiles. Buster gently placed his paws on a bed’s or wheelchair’s edge for petting, or cuddled a resident or patient in their chair or bed. Each day, as he donned his harness, Buster exploded with enthusiasm as he jumped into the car for his work shift.

Named ECMC’s April “Volunteer of the Month,” on March 3, Buster and I posed for ECMC newsletter photos. Due to Covid-19, on March 9 we were laid off from all volunteer activities. Buster’s “Pet Me” harness is now closeted to avoid provoking his disappointment.

Like many Americans, Buster and I keep high hopes for a return to our work. As a nurse remarked to me in email, “We need Buster now more than ever.”

Moose The Therapy Dog

Moose (now Dr. Moose) has been providing support to students and staff at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for six years. During that time, the yellow Labrador Retriever has participated in more than 7500 counseling sessions and 500 outreach events. He’s also struggled with his own hardships since being diagnosed with prostate cancer in February. Even while receiving radiation, chemotherapy, and other treatments, Moose hasn’t lost his friendly persona, according to his caretaker.

The therapy dog received his honorary doctorate in veterinary medicine during a virtual commencement ceremony on May 15. Moose’s relationship with the school’s veterinary department has been mutually beneficial—he moved in with a Virginia Tech veterinary student earlier in 2020 while he received medical care from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, a joint enterprise of Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland at College Park. He may have a fancy degree, but Moose still enjoys simple pleasures in his free time—namely swimming, snacking, and playing tug-of-war.

Receiving a degree is an extraordinary achievement for any dog, but Moose isn’t the first. Here are some more canines who have been honored by academia.

Love On A Leash

When Dianna Milam’s husband asked her to get involved with hospice patients about 10 years ago, she thought the task might be more than she could handle. Dr. Jeffrey Milam frequently cares for patients who are approaching an end to life. He sees many people facing that circumstance alone, and he thought his wife could meet a need in that area.

It was a request Dianna Milam eventually decided she couldn’t ignore, but she felt the job would be easier if she could share it with the family’s golden retriever, Tyson.

“One of our first outings was to see a very limited Alzheimer’s patient at the end of life. There was a nurse in the room with us. When the patient became aware there was a dog in there, she came out of the fog and smiled and smiled. The nurse burst into tears,” says Milam of that initial experience.

“As for the patient, she was engaged in the moment, and later I realized how profound that was. To know that a dog can bring that kind of love without judgment — they don’t realize someone is sick or has any other issues — is just amazing. That patient felt enough of a connection to become present again for that interaction. So we know the power of it. That’s what gets us out and loving it.”

“Us” includes Lori Carter and her yellow lab, Chance. Carter co-founded the new local chapter of Love on a Leash, which now has four other certified teams, as well. Four additional local teams are finishing their training with the 501(c)(3) charitable organization that was incorporated in 1995 in southern California.

Love on a Leash has 2,700 members in almost all states who make up volunteer therapy teams with their dogs, cats and/ or rabbits.

Milam’s experience with Tyson and the Alzheimer’s patient led to her subsequent connection with the group.

“That allowed us to go as a team and visit people in extreme conditions, and instead of it being heartbreaking and emotionally overwhelming,” she says, “going with a dog provided a beautiful excuse to bring some love into the room. It completely changed the dynamic for me, and I fell in love with volunteering.”

Five years ago, the Milams moved to Gulf Breeze and she found her volunteer place in a new location.

Carter and Chance have their own story to add as part of the local Love on a Leash founding team. Chance “grew up” at Blackwater Prison and was destined to be a companion animal from the time he was a puppy. The goal was to have him become an emotional support animal for a veteran, but Chance developed allergies that made it a challenge for him to fulfill that role. Instead, he found a new home with his “weekend” family — the Carters — and became a part of the Love on a Leash family as a pet therapy dog.

The local chapter has teams that include tiny dogs and big dogs — a Bichon Frize, a boxer, a golden retriever, a big white golden doodle — and even a couple of big Maine Coon cats that are leash trained and that respond to commands.

The two cats are specifically focused on hospice situations. Teams go through a six-week obedience and control class and earn a nationally recognized certification when they complete the final exam. The first step in training is team evaluation to make sure the human and the animal are good candidates.

The human half of each team must be someone who wants to go into situations like hospice, hospitals or assisted living facilities, where interaction can sometimes be challenging.

“You have to know you can have rapport with someone who is not at their best, to be able to draw them out and introduce your dog and help them establish rapport with you,” says Milam. “That’s a beautiful skill that you almost always see in someone who really wants to do this. So they (human Love on a Leash volunteers) are really sort of self-selecting.”

As for the animals, it is essential that they have the right temperament for the work. That temperament is not pre-determined by the animal’s breed, and no dog or other animal is automatically either excluded or included.

As part of their training, the animals are required to “show their stuff” in a variety of settings and to maintain their composure in instances where there is a sudden noise or unpredictable behavior on the part of the people they visit. An example of the latter would be excited children making sudden physical contact or an adult exhibiting out of the ordinary behavior in the animal’s presence.

The training the animals receive prepares them for any situations they might encounter.

Of course, the adults and the animals must have obvious and excellent rapport with each other before they begin to interact with strangers who will become friends.

Prior to the complications of COVID-19, Love on a Leash teams were making visits to The Arbors (they took part in the recent Mother’s Day parade and were thrilled to make contact, even from a distance, with friends they made there in the past), The Beacon at Gulf Breeze, Watermark of Gulf Breeze and Baybreeze Nursing and Retirement in Gulf Breeze. Activities directors at such locations, Milam says, are always looking for ways to engage, and they recognize that residents love animals.

Just before the COVID-19 shutdown, Love on a Leash Gulf Breeze — the name on the local group’s Facebook page — received approval to become part of the special needs classes at Oriole Beach Elementary School. While they are sidelined right now, team members are looking forward to actively engaging there in the future.

Blind Therapy Dog

As Pat Ward drifts from one window to another, she holds a sign to the glass, hoping the residents will notice her arrival rather than startling them with a knock. The poster features a red heart with a smiling face and closed eyes, an homage to the four-legged star of these visits. Baby, an 8-year-old therapy dog, is blind and had her eyes removed long ago. She doesn’t hear well, either. She has heart issues and survived cancer. But her gentleness offers warmth. Baby has become a beloved guest at Island City Assisted Living in Eaton Rapids, Mich., a small town about 20 miles from Lansing. After six years of weekly visits, she is a familiar face, even if residents can only peer through the glass. Sometimes they’re already waiting.

Puppy Love

They started out in rough circumstances, some born in the dirt under a truck, with most of their littermates dying in their infancy.

But three little Labrador retriever pups have flown into a future where they are going to make a difference in the lives of people who need their help.

About nine weeks ago, just as the coronavirus stay-at-home orders were beginning, a man called Karen Martin at the Franklin County Humane Society to tell her he had a young pregnant female lab and that his family didn’t have the ability to take care of a litter of puppies.

“My dog’s about to give birth,” he told Martin. “She’ll probably have them in the dirt under a truck.”

The shelter director knew he was trying to do the best thing, but he wasn’t able to bring the dog in to the Eastpoint adoption center.

The next thing Martin knew the dog had begun her labor, and so she rushed over to help. “She had already given birth to two, and she was actively bringing birth to a third,” she said.

Martin transported to dog, still in labor, to the shelter. “She went on deliver seven more, and all needed assistance,” she said. “Mama is young and she was confused and tired.”

So with the help of an assistant, Martin removed the membranes and cleaned the puppies. “One we had to resuscitate,” she said.

The tiniest of the 10 never had a chance. “One very small one didn’t make it (and died) in three days, even with bottle feeding,” Martin said.

As it turned out the dogs had contracted from their mother canine herpes, sometimes referred to as “fading puppy.”

What happens is that otherwise healthy puppies become sick and die at three to four weeks from the illness, although it doesn’t affect the mother’s health and well-being.

“Nothing can be done,” Martin said. “It’s passed from mother to puppy and any puppy that contracts it will die.”

Of the six black and four blondes that initially comprised the litter, all but two blonde females and one black male survived.

She said based on the look of the puppies, they assume the father was a Labrador retriever as well.

“I told him about the three lab pups we had available and figured we’d ship one to him via commercial airlines,” said Jimerson. “But the commercial airlines, we discovered, were not flying pets right now due to the pandemic.”

“He was concerned about traveling down, so my friend reached out to the Pilots N Paws Rescue organization for help,” he said.

Pilots N Paws, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides an environment in which volunteers can come together and arrange or schedule rescue flights, overnight foster care or shelter, and other related activities.

“They quickly got involved and also told Karen Martin about a group in northern Wisconsin, called Crossroads K9 Rescue that wanted the other two pups to train as service animals,” he said.

Also a non-profit, Crossroads rescues dogs left homeless and/or abandoned in overpopulated shelters where they are at high risk of euthanasia, and those in danger of abuse or neglect, and restores them to health, funneling many of them to training as service animals.

“It’s for whatever the dog turns out to be good at,” said Jimerson. “If it’s a better sniffer, they may train it to find an autistic boy who keeps running away.”

Schuh flew the pups to his home in Janesville, Wisconsin, where they spent the night.

The next day, Lerner and wife Deana picked up the blonde female they had named Daisy, after it was flown to Ames, Iowa by pilot Steve Reeves.

Meanwhile, the other two pups, the blonde female Ruby and the black male Ryker were picked up by pilot Gaurav Dogra and flown further north in Wisconsin to Crossroads K9 Rescue in Mosinee, where they will both be trained as service animals, likely to help a veteran dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, or a child whose mental state calls for him to have a devoted companion.

“They’ll be in training as long as eight months. They’ll keep them in their care,” Jimerson said. “All three pups are doing great in their new homes.”

Meanwhile, the mother, who the shelter calls Trixie, is doing well, and once she is spayed, will be returned to her owner.

Lockdown Bringing Owners Closer To Pets

If you have a beloved cat, dog, or other pet, chances are you’ve been seeing a whole lot more of them over the past few months. We’ve all been spending more time at home because of COVID-19, and a new survey of 1,000 dog and cat owners finds that quarantining together has brought many owners much closer to their pets. All in all, 84% of respondents feel they are more attuned to their pet’s health and needs.

“The human-animal bond now, more than ever, plays an integral role in people’s lives,” says Molly McAllister, chief medical officer at Banfield Pet Hospital, the organization that put together the survey. “This survey shows that pets are always here for us – even, and especially, during the most difficult of times – and we’re encouraged that as a result of spending more time together, people are committed to finding new ways to better be there for their pets.”

Millions of Americans find themselves working from home right now, and 20% of respondents admit they prefer working alongside their pets than any human co-worker. In fact, 73% worry about eventually heading back to the office and being forced to leave their pet for eight hours each day. Another 59% are already fear the separation anxiety their pup or cat may feel when they have to return to work.

Most survey participants (67%) plan on changing how they care for their pet once lockdown ends, and 47% are committed to spending more time with their pets when they are home. Furthermore, 21% even want to adjust their schedules as much as possible to spend more time at home with their pets.

Some (10%) even want to adopt another pet to keep their current furry friend company.

This year has been tumultuous, to say the least, and the survey also found that many pet owners have turned to their dogs and cats for some much needed comfort and support. Close to half (45%) say their entire house has been happier during lockdown because of their pets. Moreover, 39% think their pet has helped them manage coronavirus-related anxiety and stress. As far as different age groups, 47% of surveyed millennials have found emotional support from their pets, compared to 43% of Generation Zers and another 43% of Generation Xers.

It isn’t just the owners who are benefitting either. Nearly four in ten (38%) respondents believe their pet has been happier during lockdown and 35% think their pet has been more playful. Most owners (65%) also report giving their pets extra love and affection over the past few months. For many, that extra affection apparently includes more food; 33% agree their pet has gained weight lately.

Just about everyone’s social life has taken a significant hit lately, so perhaps it shouldn’t be all that surprising that 47% of pet owners are apparently talking to their pets more often. Cat owners (51%) tend to chat up their pets more often than dog owners (47%). Women (50%) are also more likely to talk to their pets than men (44%)

Lots of respondents seem to think that lockdown has made them a better owner in general. Nearly half (44%) feel they are more responsible and attentive towards their pet, 37% are paying more attention to their pet’s medical needs, and 42% are making sure their pets exercise more regularly.

Additionally, 20% plan to take their pets to the vet more often, and 41% contacted their local vet during lockdown.

Emotional Support Animals Help Students

Macy Garrison lives off campus with her emotional support dog, Stella, that helps her ease depression.

“I have always been someone who has struggled to make friends, and I knew that coming here would be hard for me to adapt, ” Garrison said. “Struggling with depression, I needed something to keep my mind off of it.”

Garrison, a sophomore business management major, hopes to have her emotional support dog certified and approved by Temple.

Emotional support animals can provide support for owners who experience mental illnesses, like anxiety or depression. Temple students can apply to have their animal certified for emotional assistance.

University Housing and Residential Life describes an emotional assistance animal as, “any animal that is specifically designated by a qualified medical provider as affording an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, provided there is a link between the individual’s disability and the assistance the animal provides.”

A student must fill out a disability request to allow their animal to live with them in university housing. Students must keep up-to-date vaccination forms for their animal, along with maintaining its hygiene and controlling its behavior.

Once the disability request is approved, UHRL meets with the student to review university policies and procedures, said Shana Alston, director of University Housing and Residential Life.

Liv Tempesta, a junior art therapy major, went through Temple’s assistance animal approval process to allow her cat to live with her at Johnson Hall. It took her a couple of weeks to receive a letter from a Temple therapist, explaining why she requires an emotional support animal.

The process was straightforward and she benefited from her having her cat with her on campus, Tempesta said.

“Having [an emotional support animal] is just another type of treatment opportunity, especially for people who love animals,” she added.

Caring for an emotional support animal can help students experiencing mental illness stick to a routine. Illnesses, like depression, disrupt a person’s ability to perform normal activities, because of persistent feelings of sadness, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Jaleh Javadpour, a junior statistical science and data analytics major, said she didn’t know until the end of her freshman year that emotional support animals were allowed in residence halls. She now lives off-campus with her dog Maggie, who helps her manage her depression and anxiety.

“[Maggie] really keeps me on schedule and keeps me exercising, which goes with the emotional support,” she said. “When I am feeling depressed and don’t want to do anything but lay in bed, I know that’s not healthy and I have to get up to feed her and take her on walks two to three times a day.”

Pet Therapy Program

When experienced pet handler Linda Dunn moved to Jacksonville, she approached numerous hospitals about starting a pet therapy program. When she shared this vision with Wolfson Children’s Hospital leaders, they saw it as an innovative way to improve patients’ experiences. Dunn promptly joined the Wolfson Children’s Auxiliary, established the program, and made the hospital’s first pet therapy visit in May 1995 with her Labrador retriever, Jenni.

In May 2020, the Wolfson Children’s Hospital Pet Therapy Program celebrated its 25th anniversary. In that time, pet therapy dogs and handlers have visited thousands of patients and families to provide emotional support during their hospitalization. To commemorate Pet Therapy’s contribution to Jacksonville’s children and families, Mayor Lenny Curry proclaimed May 15, 2020, to be Wolfson Children’s Hospital Pet Therapy Day.

Today, the auxiliary has a roster of 13 certified pet therapy teams, each made up of one handler and one dog, with one more duo in training.

“Our Pet Therapy Program is a unique and important part of how we care for our patients,” said Michael D. Aubin, FACHE, president of Wolfson Children’s Hospital. “These remarkable dogs and owners reduce anxiety for and bring comfort to our patients, their families and our team members the moment they walk in the door. The bonds our patients and therapy pets form are evidence of how important the program becomes to them during their stay.”

Pet therapy is an evidence-based way to support children’s healing, no matter the reason the children are in the hospital. Studies show that spending time with a certified therapy dog triggers the release of endorphins, which eases pain and discomfort, lowers blood pressure, and reduces levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. When patients need to practice their motor skills or learn to walk again, providers can call on therapy dogs to motivate them to practice walking, petting, and reaching to tug or toss toys. Wolfson’s pet therapy teams not only visit patients, but also provide support to nurses, physicians, and other providers during special events, like Nurses Week. Baptist Health also offers pet therapy visits at two of its locations thanks to 15 handler and dog volunteer pairs.

Pet Therapy Chair and volunteer handler Jeanne Shober said she and her dog Bear have seen the benefits of pet therapy firsthand.

“Nearly every child we visit has a beloved pet at home that they miss terribly,” Shober said. “Sharing our dogs with the children, their parents and the staff helps to bring smiles and a touch of happiness to their day. Sharing our pets is also rewarding to the handlers and their dogs. It’s such a privilege for us to be a part of this wonderful hospital.”