Therapy Dogs Featured In Magazine

The Albany Police Department received a special honor for its therapy dog program. It will be featured in a police chief magazine.

The article on the revolutionary program was submitted by the police department in February. They just received word it will be featured in the April edition of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Magazine.

The magazine will be sent to police chiefs around the world. The article details how Maxie and Finn are now integral parts of the police department.

“The dogs are still serving as a way for us to build some bridges as well,” Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said. “When people in the community right now with all the stress and anxiety they are having, they see these dogs out and about — even though we still have to practice social distancing — they still want to come up and safely, you know, pet the dog.”

The program was launched last year, and both Maxie and Finn became certified therapy dogs in August 2019.

Artist Draws Portraits Of Dog

British artist Becky Flack draws unusual portraits of his Chihuahua named Tita. The dog appears to them in different ways – the pilot, a nurse, adventuress, royals, writes Metro.

Titus appeared at Becky four years ago from a couple who bred this breed. At the time she was two years and 9 months and she has already brought two litters of puppies.

This cute animal was the dog for emotional support, which helps the artist to cope with depression and anxiety, from which Flack suffered for over 25 years.

As says the owner, Titus is always happy to see her. When the artist was petting his dog, it feels safer. Chihuahua made her a target, because now next to Becky is a living creature, she should care and who is responsible.

Therapy Dog Bringing Comfort

D’Eionte Stoutamire connected with Shannon — the therapy dog who has taken up residence at Warren’s McGuffey PK-8 School — almost immediately after meeting the gentle German shepherd earlier this school year.

“He takes training and working with her very seriously,” said Jill Redmond, a school counselor at McGuffey. “And it’s obvious she’s taken to him.”

Several students have been introduced to 2-year-old Shannon since she arrived at McGuffey this past summer as the school’s first therapy dog. But, Redmond said, D’Eionte has “a special connection to Shannon that was noticeable from the get-go.”

The concept of having a therapy dog on site was introduced to the school a few years ago after two students were killed in an automobile crash. McGuffey “borrowed” therapy dog Beau, a golden retriever, from Willard PK-8 School to help students and staff cope with the sudden and tragic loss.

Beau is set to retire at the end of the school year after gracing Willard’s halls the past four years. Like him, Shannon has brought comfort and calmness to McGuffey.

She spends one day per week at the school, but the goal is to expand her presence to two days per week by the end of the year.

Students earn rewards by meeting various classroom goals. Spending time with Shannon is one of those rewards. So far, D’Eionte has met the most goals and therefore earned the most time with Shannon. The fourth-grader spends much of his time practicing hand signals that serve as basic obedience commands telling Shannon, for example, to “come, sit, heel, stand, or stay.”

“I love this dog,” D’Eionte said. “She’s the best part of my day. All the kids love her.”

As D’Eionte is leading Shannon down the hall, a classmate, Donovan May, 10, approaches the two and asks if he can pet the canine. Always asking the handler for permission to pet a therapy dog is among the protocols students and staff have learned and practice regularly, explained dog trainer Angela Holland-Tancos of Angels in the Innfield LLP in Southington.

Holland-Tancos started working with Shannon before the school brought her in as a therapy dog.

“I enjoy the benefits I see with the kids and Shannon,” Holland-Tancos said. “The students have been extremely receptive. They’re comfortable with her, and she’s comfortable being here.”

Warren City is among a growing number of area school districts to bring therapy dogs into its buildings. The district’s Lincoln PK-8 School has partnered with a local kennel club that for the past 10 years has been bringing therapy dogs to the school twice a month, for an hour each visit, to spend time with students with special needs. The students work with the dogs in the library by talking to the canines, reading to them and simply spending time with them.

“There’s a lot to be said about these relationships,” Redmond said. “Sometimes a student, or even a teacher, walks by and wants to pet Shannon. It calms them and you can actually see them relax and refocus. We love having her here. She really has become part of the McGuffey family.”

Emotional Support Dog Lily

Our dog, Lily, is definitely an emotional-support animal, even if she doesn’t have a diploma. Fortunately, I also have an emotional-support husband. My kids, not so much. But isn’t that why you have a dog? (And a husband?)

Like all people who have adopted a dog in its later years, you almost wish it could talk for five minutes and answer some of your most pressing questions about its behavior. But then when you think about it more, you realize it’s probably best you don’t know how this dog came to be abandoned at the pound with a mouthful of rotten teeth and an abiding fear of male persons.

Lily was 7 when she came to us as a “one week” emergency foster dog who had been rescued from the pound by a local agency. It took her exactly three days to work her way into our hearts, even though we had agreed that we would never (ever ever) have another dog after our devastation at losing our English bulldog Winston. I think the foster agency saw us for the mushballs that we were. They have great instincts that way.

Some $1,500 worth of dental work later, we bought Lily a basket of toys suitable for a 15-pound dog with three remaining teeth. But we couldn’t get her interested in any of the them. It’s like she didn’t know what they were and what she was supposed to do with them. She always just sniffed them and walked away.

Finally, I found her some small round rubber squeaky balls that did pique her interest, but not as toys. She would gather them up protectively in a group close to her chest, her paws around them, and lick them affectionately as if they were her pups. She hadn’t been spayed when we got her, and we began to wonder if this adorable bichon-poodle mix had been a breeder.

From time to time visitors to the house, not realizing that these squeaky balls were offspring and not playthings, would pick one up and throw it for her. Lily would be enraged, chasing after it but immediately returning it to the rest of her litter and glowering at the guest.

“You just threw her child,” we’d explain to them. “She’s very sensitive about it.” They were always hugely apologetic.

But over time, we would notice that Lily would place one of her squeaky “pups,” as we called them, right in the middle of a doorway, where we would invariably step on it. Seriously, it scared the bejesus out of us every time. She’d then come racing over and claim it.

But the next thing we knew, another one would be in another doorway ready to be squashed. She’d obviously had some very ambivalent experiences with mothering. I can remember a few like that myself.

But after we’d had her for two years, it was almost as if she’d lost any maternal memories whatsoever. This was a relief for us, as no one wants to step on anyone else’s kid. Never mind that our aging hearts just weren’t up to sudden stoppages.

She began dropping a pup in front of us and seemingly wanting us to throw it for her so she could retrieve it and bring it back. It was like some other dog on the bike path had clued her in on how it was supposed to be done. The game was called “fetch” and was built into the code of dogs.

Now, I have read that dogs don’t see color, but I can attest that this is not so. Lily has a full set of six squeaky pups in different colors, but her favorite child is definitely the green one. In fact, one could almost call doggie social services for the lack of attention the five other pups get these days. They’re strewn around the house, ignored. At this point, Lily refuses to come to bed at night until Green Squeaky Pup has been located and is prominently placed on her blanket on our bed.

If it is not immediately locatable, she runs around the house looking on top of — or under — sofas and beds in a frantic search to find it. Fortunately, I have one of those grabber gizmos so I can fish it out from otherwise inaccessible places, because Lily is willing to whine — and be on the alert — for hours if Green Squeaky Pup is marooned where she can’t reach it.

Attachment is attachment.

We’ve accepted that even though Lily is our emotional-support animal, we are second to Green Squeaky Pup in her feelings. Fortunately, Muttropolis keeps them in stock, as the balls eventually lose their squeak and need to be replaced by Son of Green Squeaky Pup.

Would that my children’s favorite blankets and stuffed animals had been so replaceable.

Virtual Therapy Dog Visits

Schools are closed statewide due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Tricia Baker, co-founder of Attitudes in Reverse, has still been visiting six schools across New Jersey on a weekly basis—just virtually.

During lessons, students learn what therapy dogs are and why dogs make people smile.

“Different therapy dogs will be joining us each week, so the students are exposed to many different dogs of all breeds,” she said. “While petting dogs provides maximum destressing to humans, the simple act of looking at a dog releases oxytocin, a feel-good brain chemical. That is our main focus for these virtual visits: hoping to help students smile.”

Students also learn the safety rules to follow when meeting therapy dogs and the type of schooling and testing dogs need to complete to become certified.

“The students enjoy discovering that dogs have to go to school just like the students,” Baker said.

The virtual platform for AIR therapy dog visits was inspired by the inability to meet with students in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The dogs have a natural talent for breaking down barriers to communication,” Baker said. “At every presentation, between 6 and 17 percent of students speak up about their mental health struggles or concern about friends. The dogs also attract many visitors to our exhibit table at conferences and other events.”

“Thanks so much! We’re excited to build off of this!” said Justin Dolcimascolo, a teacher at Grover Middle School in the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District, following a virtual visits.

“All of us at AIR look forward to presenting at schools again,” Baker said. “In the meantime, we are glad to have the technology to reach out to students, as well as adults, especially as the coronavirus pandemic has created or compounded mental health issues for many people, which could lead to increased risk of suicide.”

Dogs Go Through Teenage Phase

Service Dogs Dolly And Aura

Dogs. As far as I am concerned they are all heroes.  But the American Humane Hero Dog Awards “is an annual, nationwide competition that searches out and recognizes America’s Hero Dogs – often ordinary dogs who do extraordinary things, whether it’s saving lives on the battlefield, lending sight or hearing to a human companion, or simply providing the tail-wagging welcome a pet owner relishes at the end of a hard day.”

These dogs work as military dogs or in in law enforcement, as service, guide/hearing dogs or therapy dogs, and shelter dogs. The winners in each of the seven CATegories (see what I did there hehehe) will be honored at the American Humane Hero Dog Awards this October on the Hallmark Channel.

The voting will in this round is underway and will be going until July 16. You can vote in each of the seven categories will go on to the next round.

As for our Maine dogs…first up is Dolly Pawton as a service dog. According to her profile she is a cardiac alter dog and lets her owner know if there is a dangerous change.  Dolly also has just added to the over quality of life in many different ways for her human.  Dolly is from Naples.

Next up… Aura is a hearing service dog. According to her profile her human lost their hearing in a rocket attack in Afghanistan.  Aura has helped her human in way beyond with ‘simply’ being her ears, she adds to her owner’s life in every way.  Aura is a Brunswick dog.

All the dogs are wonderful and you know what…they are all winner already in my book.

Patients Video Chat Therapy Dogs

The nonprofit Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children is finding a new way to operate to help people.

Therapy Dogs with the nonprofit are still busy making kids feel better despite limitations due to the pandemic.

Normally the canines visit the office or a family home, but to keep everyone safe, they meet with the patients online.

For Erin, who was diagnosed with cancer back in August, having these video chats helps.

“These little moments, especially with the dog, brings so much joy to Erin because we are so cut off from the rest of the world,” says Susan Lundgren, Erin’s mother.

The nonprofit is also handing out “Sunshine Packs” for kids, which are filled with books, toys, games as well as essentials like toilet paper and cleaning products for families.

Hero Dog Award

Dolly, a service dog from Naples, acts as a cardiac alert for her owner Amy Sherwood.

Dolly, a service dog from Naples, has made the semi-finals for Hallmark Channel’s Hero Dog Award.

Dolly works as a cardiac alert for her owner Amy Sherwood, who is restricted to a wheelchair because of multiple illnesses. The black lab alerts Amy if her blood pressure drops too low or her heart rate rises to an unsafe level.

Dolly is trained to press a certain button that calls 911 if Sherwood were to pass out at home. If they are out in public, she knows how to go alert someone for help. Dolly has had to use her skills multiple times.

While this is Dolly’s most important job, the 4-year-old black lab has other talents. She opens doors, pulls packages into the house, helps to do the laundry, pulls Amy’s wheelchair, will pay for items in stores, and even works as crowd control in case people are getting to close and make her owner uncomfortable.

According to Amy, “Dolly is my friend, my partner, and my medical equipment with a loving beating heart. She has changed my life completely. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

Sherwood says she was quite insecure and afraid to be “a functioning part of society.” Dolly inspired her to write two children’s books, Pawsibly the Best Medicine and Emotional Support is Ruff.

Amy trained Dolly herself by taking her to casinos and arcades to teach her how to press buttons and took her out in many public places to acclimate her to crowds and distractions. But it’s not all work and no play for Dolly, the black lab spends her time off the leash dock diving. She has competed twice in the DockDogs World Championships. While dock diving is a favorite pastime, Dolly loves any activity involving water.

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