Willow Brings Joy To Students

A 1-year-old black Labradoodle named Willow helped brighten the lives of St. Marys Catholic Elementary School students this year, and is still doing so for some during the coronavirus closure.

Kim Sloff, inclusion coordinator at the school, is an avid animal lover. Her son was diagnosed with autism at 2 years old, and the family looked into a therapy dog then, but found it would be costly.

Sloff’s background includes working as a preschool aid and in mental health and case work, she said. Since the school doesn’t have a special education department, her position was developed to better serve children with special needs.

In February 2019, she attended an inclusion conference, visiting a school with a therapy dog in action, where the idea of securing one for the St. Marys school was inspired.

The Sloff family got Willow when she was a puppy. She’s classified as an emotional support dog, and was officially certified in February of this year.

“She went into the school every day as a puppy and walked around with me,” she said. “I couldn’t believe how she took to the process at just five months old. She became a fixture immediately, and the kids loved her.”

Sloff’s responsibilities include tutoring, testing and reading to children, she said, many of whom have extreme test anxiety or struggle with behavioral issues. Some children will sit and pet Willow for comfort and for others she is part of a “reward” program.

“If a student comes in upset, by the time they leave us, they’re laughing and smiling,” Sloff said.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sloff says she has been doing tutoring sessions via video chat, and Willow will sit next to her. She has sent a video of herself and Willow to a boy struggling at home during the closure.

“It made his day,” she said.

Willow is such a part of the school that she is even pictured in the yearbook under faculty, Sloff adds.

Not just during quarantine, but all the time, Willow brings so much comfort and unconditional love to Sloff and her family’s life, she said, referring to her as her “kindred spirit.”

“I have an absolute connection with her I’ve never had with any animal,” she said.

AMR Has New Therapy Dog

AMR just welcomed a new member to the team. He’s got an important job and will be put to work right away with his tail wagging, of course.

Riggs is a 10-week-old labradoodle and will be the state’s first AMR therapy dog. His handler, who works in human resources, at AMR will be taking care of him as he works to get his certification.

He’ll also be hanging out with all of the brave men and women who are working for AMR during this pandemic.

“I mean who doesn’t love a cuddly little furry dog to roll around and pet. It helps you relax. It helps someone open up when maybe they wouldn’t normally open up and talk about what’s bothering them,” said Regional Dir. For AMR Connecticut South, Bill Schietinger.

He says working for AMR is stressful enough and the Covid-19 outbreak has only made it worse.

“(They) make sure they’re not contaminating themselves, other patients. Taking the time to clean our vehicles and equipment and dealing with the critical patients that we’ve seen since the beginning of Covid-19. Perfect timing and Riggs will be put hard to work here.”

Riggs will be traveling around the different AMR branches in Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport, and New Haven.

His training is expected to take about a year. Then, his service will be shared where it is needed at police and fire departments as well as hospitals across the state.

Best Of Friends

I recently interviewed several pet owners in Westwood to understand their relationship with their pets. I wanted to know how their pets enrich their lives.

I felt this was especially important now as we all come to terms with the COVID-19 pandemic. During this crisis, our pets have become our rocks of stability, emotional support and our cuddle-buddies. I know that our dog, Byrdie, has brightened up my life with her unconditional love and sloppy kisses.

I interviewed Janet to hear her stories about her little dog Charlie. He is a very handsome fellow, a Pomeranian chi. This small crossbreed is playful, devoted, and energetic. At 10 years of age Charlie is as active as any young pup. He enjoys long walks with Janet and loves to cuddle. He is also a loyal companion and makes Janet laugh all the time with his adorable personality.

I discovered quite a few fun facts about Val’s pets. Her stories reminded me of an animal kingdom documentary. She has two beautiful feline friends. Magoo is a 10-year-old, male rag-doll Persian cat and Val describes him as a real ladies’ man who can melt anyone with his blue eyes. Magoo has a lush grey-and-white coat. His mannerism is one of refined royalty, which has earned him the nickname “Lion Boy.” Val’s other cat, Greyson, is a striking six-year-old old male with a black and white coat. He is the silent type, independent and shy.

Val’s budgie, named Bird, seems to be the real life of the party at her house, based on the stories she told. Bird entertains the family and the cats with his bouncy happy dance. Budgies are one of the most popular pets, very cute and affectionate.

Nicole has added a new member to her family — an adorable, 10-week-old female Labrador retriever named Luna. This breed is kind, has an even temperament and is known for its enthusiasm for sports and swimming. Nicole says Luna is very curious and happy, with stunning blue eyes, a dark grey coat and that wonderful puppy breath.  Luna has already stolen Nicole’s heart (and mine).

From my interviews, it is evident to me that pet owners love their pets. and they help us cope during these stressful times. They truly are our best friends.

Sniffing Dogs

Is there anything a dog can’t do?

Emotional support animals, medical support animals, drug sniffing dogs, bed bug sniffing dogs…and soon Coronavirus sniffing dogs!

YES!

A new program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) has scientests and researchers working with dogs to see if their noses can help with early detection of COVID-19 in humans.

In this program happening right now, 8 dogs are being trained in a laboratory setting. Over three weeks, they will first learn to recognize the smell of COVID-19 in saliva and urine samples from infected patients (through an imprinting technique) and will then be tested to see if they can detect the infected samples from the non-infected samples.

Cynthia Otto, a Vet and director of Penn Vet’s Working Dog Center says:

“The potential impact of these dogs and their capacity to detect COVID-19 could be substantial. This study will harness the dog’s extraordinary ability to support the nation’s COVID-19 surveillance systems, with the goal of reducing community spread.”

So when could we start seeing COVID-19 sniffing dogs? These trained dogs could be ready to start sniffing humans by July.

Dogs Virtual Connection

St. John’s Ambulance has kept aspects of its therapy dog program running here in London by going virtual.

The ‘Dog Tales’ program was created to support struggling readers aged 7-12 years old, says Jenny Hauser, a coordinator with the program.

The goal of ‘Dog Tales’ is to improve children’s skills by having them read their favourite books to trained four-legged professionals, like Charlie (a 12-year-old cockapoo) and Kalie (a 12-year-old beagle).

The London Public Library’s Sherwood Forest branch is among the library locations that usually hosts and facilitates the reading program when St. John’s Ambulance brings the “paw-pular” dogs to lend an ear.

But due to COVID-19, the library was forced to close its doors and the program volunteers and staff had to find another way to connect with kids.

The program is now offering 15-minute video conferencing sessions to young readers over the Zoom app.

“Dogs just make people feel better..they’re a catalyst for connection,” says Hauser. “Even just looking at them, great things happen.”

Hauser says the program is a success because it creates a “serene and lovely atmosphere” for shy and reluctant readers to boost their confidence in literacy.

Spencer Garrod, who is seven years old, signed up with the program in Nov. 2019.

“The first day I signed up with Dog Tales I had Charlie, and the second time I had Kalie.”

Garrod says, on a scale of one to 10 for excitement, he is at a full 10 when he gets to talk to his furry friends.

Garrod likes to read books like, ‘No, David,’ written by David Shannon, and usually reads up to three books to Charlie or Kalie at each session.

“Sometimes I love them. Sometimes I don’t,” says Garrod, “I don’t like them when they bark, but I like them when they don’t bark.”

The owner of Charlie the cockapoo, Kris Tucker, has been a volunteer with the Therapy Dog Program since 2014.

“(Charlie) loves car rides, Timbits, and visiting with kids…he loves listening to them,” says Tucker.

“Children love animals, children love dogs, the dogs are gentle and they don’t correct or critique them they just listen gently.”

Hauser says the volunteers are asked to sit with the dogs quietly and to be available for any questions that the readers may ask.

The dogs have all been chosen specifically for the program and have been trained. Usually Dog Tales would happen at local libraries once a month.

The program varies across Canada based on community need and the availability of volunteers.

Therapy dogs also routinely offer comfort and companionship in senior residences and care facilities.

In hospitals, they may be providing relief and distraction for patients awaiting cancer treatments.

Hauser says she is hoping to bring more connection to the community by facilitating video chats at senior homes and hospitals.

Pet Therapy

The residents of Westgate Nursing Facility received special visitors last week from a distance. As part of a “pet therapy” session for residents, Comfort Care Hospice along with other volunteers provided a time for residents to spend with different animals. “I loved doing the pet therapy and the patients absolutely loved it,” said Comfort Care Hospice Volunteer Coordinator Susan Rhodes shared.
Providing a time for residents to visit with goats and dogs. “We were not near the patients. We had those retractable leashes.
Because the leashes were so long, the dogs were disciplined enough and Piper (visiting Labra-doodle) would just sit there and they pet them,” explained Rhodes.
All in all, it was an enjoyable experience for all. Rhodes hopes to plan similar events in the future for Brewton and the surrounding areas.

A Special Bond

Sometimes a dog hears the heart before a human ever could, showing love and patience where needed the most. That’s why courthouse dogs will soon join legal teams in Stephens County: to help provide care for a child or victim and assist their emotional needs inside the courtroom.

Sunny, a courthouse dog who doubles as a service dog in training with K9s 4 Mobility, uses a specific blanket with his name embroidered on it to mark his place in the room.

According to District Attorney Jason Hicks, the blanket goes in the witness stand and Sunny follows. When the witnesses are scared or sometimes become agitated, the dog will provide comfort to help the emotions going on inside of them.

“The witness will sit down, and they are encouraged to take their shoes off and put their feet on him … and he just lays there,” Hicks said.

Those in the courthouse show excitement about this new program, which would make a courtroom experience more calming for many people.

“I think it’s something all of us are really excited about and I think it would be really good for victims and especially children in the courtroom, because this courtroom could be a really scary place, especially for a child,” Hicks said.

Michelle Woerner, CEO of K9s 4 Mobility, said the program she works for is accredited through Assistance Dogs International (ADI), which makes sure the K9s 4 Mobility operates at the standards of the ethics of the industry.  The organization works with Courthouse Dogs Foundation, which started the whole courthouse program about 10 years ago.

According to Woerner, Courthouse Dogs Foundation has set the standards and they’re an affiliate partner of ADL. They worked with the Stephens County Courthouse with the legal part and how to involve the dog, get judges support and more.

The process starts with a puppy with training in the home. From there, Woerner and her team will take over training, which moves to local, empty courtrooms by sitting in the witness box and eventually bench hearings.

The training process, according to Woerner, who comes from Cheyenne, Wyoming, allows to the dog to become used to the courtroom sounds and the variety of noises the dog will hear during a session.

According to Woerner, who works with Sunny, dogs in the program are trained to sit still as well as pick items up such as keys, a remote or anything someone has dropped on the floor and needs retrieving.

“We came up here to see what the courtrooms were like and Jason brought his kids in, so we had some kids to work with the dog,” Woerner said.

In visiting Stephens County, Woerner learned the courtrooms had a slight difference. Training rooms had a solid witness box, where the dog is not visible to the judge. Now, the judge can see the dog and the dog in turn had to learn somebody else would be moving around and not just the human they were accompanying.

The training team also scopes out the office and where the dog will live outside of work.

After the training team gets to know the courthouse and surroundings, they take the dog back and begin training them specifically for the job they will do.

“A courthouse dog has to be placed as part of the legal team,” Woerner said. “If they want a dog to come in and work with kids periodically, that would be a therapy dog and the person that has a therapy dog is not already privy to this information and doesn’t know how to work with the kids … and victims. So, it has to be a part of the legal team, so that they already have all the confidentiality.”

According to Woerner, the person working with the dog introduces the child or victim to the dog in what is called an interview room. The dog then builds a relationship and a bond with the individual within at least 30 minutes, allowing them to become comfortable with one another.

“Usually the attorneys will bring him into the courtroom to introduce him to the courtroom,” Woerner said. “It’s two to three times the child will work with the dog before they actually get into the witness box in front of a judge.”

Morgan Clark, 8 years old, sat with Sunny on the witness stand where Sunny laid at her feet, unseen to the rest of the courtroom.

“When the dog goes in the box, they know each other and are comfortable with each other,” Woerner said. “The dog is just supposed to lay there and be quiet, no whining, no barking, no moving, no playing. What they want is for nobody else in the courtroom to actually see the dog. Everybody knows the dog is there, but nobody should actually see the dog, once the dog goes under there that’s where the dog stays.”

Sunny knows a list of commands and does well with children.

“Sunny is very appropriate with kids,” Woerner said. “He’s not allowed to jump on kids, he doesn’t paw at kids. He has a command which is a head rest, where if you’re sitting, he puts his head on your lap. If you’re standing, he leans his head against you. That’s his way of saying, ‘I would like your attention, I’m comfortable with you. When kids are on the floor, he has to be laying down, we never want him to tower over the kids.”

Woerner said they teach all their assistance dogs certain skills, such as retrieving items for those with disabilities.

“We still teach our courthouse dogs to do that because when the child is building that bond with them, being able to drop something, like the remote control in the interview room and the dog gets it, it’s incredibly empowering for that child that maybe nobody’s listened to up until now, and they ask the dog to do something for them and the dog does it, and the dog’s happy to do it,” she said.

Woerner recalled a case where one juvenile, a past victim, became an offender and had a lot of emotions bottled up. Working with a dog in this case helped, Woerner said.

“When she comes in, she’s been very hostile, she’s been very violent and so we introduced him to her prior,” Woerner said. “She loved on him and he laid down on his blanket beside her and he laid there the whole time, put his head on her foot and … she stayed calm the entire time. The judge talked to her, she never raised her voice, she never became violent, and all he was doing was laying there.”

Woerner said mostly the dogs care for the victims, such as children and women that have been victims of different abuses, but they can be used in this circumstance as well. The dogs are also used with foster kids who need to sit in the courtroom with their foster parents.

Sunny has his boundaries and a routine, like breaks throughout the day, and they try to find a balance of work and play for the dogs. He has time to be “just a dog,” but if he has his vest on, that means he is working.

Reveals Rescue Dog

AMANDA Holden has revealed her rescue dog has saved her worried family during lockdown.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge says she is extremely grateful to pet Rudi over the past 10 weeks.

It comes as 75% of Brits say their pet is helping them cope during the coronavirus crisis, according to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Battersea ambassador Amanda said: “I’m not sure what our family would have done without our rescue pets while we’ve been in lockdown.

“They cheer us up every day, they give us a routine to focus on when we’re feeling overwhelmed.

“They make the kids laugh when they’re finding it hard and missing their friends.”

More than 1,000 people submitted video clips and pictures of their rescue dogs and cats brightening up their lockdown lives for Battersea’s new Rescues to the Rescue advert.

Midwife Chelsea said her Battersea dog Percy helped her cope with the stress of being a frontline NHS worker.

She said: “Percy just takes all that stress away as soon as you walk through the door.

“He makes us laugh every day such as developing his own routine while we are trying to exercise with Joe Wicks.

“He’s our knight in shining armour.”

Naomi Hannah, 43, of south-west London, revealed her Battersea pet Potato has been like a therapy dog to her children.

She said: “My stepson has special needs and it’s been hard for him to adjust to what’s been going on, but Potato has been great for him.”

Battersea ambassador Paul O’Grady says his four dogs have helped him cope during lockdown.

Paul said: “I can always rely on them to put a smile on my face, no matter how bleak the news is.

“They’ve made my life a bit brighter while I’ve been in isolation and I’m thankful for that.”

Last year Battersea helped over 5,000 animals across its three centres.

However, like all charities, Battersea is facing a significant drop in income due to the coronavirus crisis.

The charity’s rehoming manager Becky MacIver, said: “There are so many rescue dogs and cats helping their owners right now – and many more who are still waiting for their chance in rescue centres across the UK.

“Now more than ever, Battersea needs support to help us be here for every dog and cat that needs us.”

Dogs Having A Ball

Christmas came early for these fur babies.

Marissa Ferguson-Berg of Summerville, South Carolina decided to gift her pooches a tennis ball extravaganza when she discovered you could buy 400 used tennis balls on eBay.

As soon as she received the shipment, she let her dogs out in the yard and placed the giant box on the ground. Ferguson-Berg’s dog, Thor, appeared to know exactly what was inside and attempted to tear through the box.

With a little help from the owners, the dogs were able to really dig into their new toys.

Video captured the moment the balls hit the ground and Marissa’s dogs set off running around in absolute bliss that can be felt through the screen.

Therapy Dog Welcomes Students

Most will have to leave parents and pets at home, however a lucky group of primary school children at Gippsland Grammar will be welcomed on campus by the wagging tail of Wilson, the school’s resident comfort dog.

“You cannot underestimate the emotions of our young people and how they are feeling as they return to school after learning from home for such a length of time,” said Gippsland Grammar’s head of Bairnsdale campus, Virginia Evans.

“With the return to school, we are doing everything to provide a safe and happy environment for our students and we want our families to feel a great sense of belonging and familiarity as they arrive.

“Wilson is an integral part of our community and provides not only comfort, but enjoyment … the children absolutely love him.”

Early in Wilson’s training it was identified that his temperament was suited to being a therapy dog.

School therapy dogs provide comfort and support to children and teachers; helping lower anxiety, increase empathy and decrease the incidence of bullying.

While Wilson’s training is a bit behind schedule because of COVID-19 he still managed to be part of the children’s learning during the school’s remote learning program.

Mrs Crowe and Wilson connected with students using video conferencing technology to share books every day during story time.

Gippsland Grammar students in its Early Learning Centre, Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 classes return to the Bairnsdale campus today, while Year 11 and 12, VCE and VCAL students return to the Garnsey Campus, in Sale. All other students will return to school on June 9.