Therapy Dog Frannie
Most dogs get excited when they hear the word “treat” or “walk,” but for Frannie the therapy dog the word “school” is what gets her tail wagging.
When Ellsworth schools began to shut down in response to the public health crisis, Frannie and owner Katie Deiss figured out a way to stay connected with their students and human friends.
Every weekday at 1 p.m. Frannie and Deiss log onto Frannie’s Facebook account to host a live interactive video experience. The two sit together while Deiss reads a story and chats with the student audience. Meanwhile, Frannie peacefully lays next to Deiss, gives a paw wave to the camera and shows off her high-fiving skills.
“Frannie is definitely a wellspring of joy, just positive, there is nothing negative that can come from her,” Deiss said.
The two and a half-year-old Labradoodle works as a therapy dog at Ellsworth Elementary. Frannie’s calm demeanor makes her an excellent therapy dog, according to Deiss. She does not bark much and loves being pet by multiple people at a time. For the last year and a half Frannie would vest up, go to school with Deiss and engage with students.
“She is their dog just as much as she is mine,” Deiss said.
Deiss works as a special education teacher for emotional and behavioral students. She teaches social skills and self regulation to students.
With the limitations imposed by social distancing, Deiss had to get creative on how to connect with students.
“I needed a fun engaging way for students to want to and Frannie is the perfect tool for that,” Deiss said. “What better way to connect with people then using social media?”
Deiss knew she would not be able to reach every student via Zoom or email.
“So I thought most people have Facebook, let’s make Frannie a Facebook,” she said.
Each virtual visit encourages Deiss’ students to engage in the comment section, ask questions, say hello, tell stories, share their favorite part of the day or their plans for the weekend. The live videos give students the opportunity to hang out with Frannie once again.
Deiss also created a reading calendar to showcase which books planned to read. While most days they read together, some days Frannie and Deiss might go for a walk or chat with the audience.
Engagement on Facebook is strong, Frannie currently has over 500 friends. Daily videos pull in several comments and views range from dozens to hundreds.
“I’ve had parents that have told me they are setting their alarm clocks for 1 o’clock. I’ve had teachers making sure they are telling their students that this is an option,” Deiss said.
You could say Frannie is one (paw)pular girl.
“This is just Frannie and I’s way of putting our best foot forward and doing what we can,” Deiss said. “I think we are just having a lot of fun, there is no rule book for this kind of thing.”
Service Dog Becomes Gift For Veteran
Celeste, a service dog, came into a perilous situation when her owner died and suddenly she had no one to care for her and nowhere to go.
She was on the verge of being put down when, as fate had it, Martin Vallance, a veteran who served in the Desert Storm operation of 1991, was connected to Celeste via social media and was chosen to adopt her.
In a post made by the Hawkins police department, the page announced:
Oliver The Therapy Dog
Residents at Stone Brook Assisted Living and Memory Care in Denison are accustomed to seeing Monarch Hospice’s therapy dog Oliver almost every week, but COVID-19 restrictions on visitation have changed that.
“One of our residents Glenn, every day has asked, ‘When’s Oliver coming? When’s Oliver coming? Can he get in my room? Can he get in my bed?'” said Kim Ortiz, Stone Brook’s activities director.
Oliver has done virtual visits with the residents before, but they haven’t seen him face-to-face in months.
“They can’t pet Oliver like they normally do… or sneak him crackers… but I think just seeing him gave them a little bit of hope and understanding that we’re doing this just to keep them safe,” said Monarch Hospice community liaison Brandy Barnard said.
Visitation restrictions are still in place, so families haven’t been able to come and visit their loved ones. That’s why these window visits are providing the comfort these residents need.
“It’s still therapy, even though they’re not getting to pet Oliver,” Ortiz said. “They’re still getting to see him, and — as you’ve seen — they know his name and they recognize him, and they all need that familiarity right now, especially with what’s going on.”
Ortiz added that having these activities to look forward to can help make each day special.
“They just love him so much, and it just brings such a joy… and the smiles, it just makes my heart melt,” she said. “We even had someone shedding some tears… they just love him.”
Therapy Dog Visits Seniors
Most nursing homes and assisted living facilities are not allowing visitors, to help protect a vulnerable population from the coronavirus. Those that offer pet therapy are finding it tricky to deliver under the restriction, but one facility is getting creative to allow a special four-legged friend.
Therapy dog Baby has been coming to Island City Assisted Living for 6 and a half years now bringing the therapy to the residents through their windows while she can’t go inside.
“Baby is just a real, just a sweet soul.”
Eight-year-old baby has been through her share of storms.
“She has been through a lot with the loss of her eyes and she has hearing loss as well. She’s a cancer survivor and she’s had some other issues”
But for the last six and a half years, Baby and her mom Pat are bringing nothing but joy and sunshine to the residents of Island City.
“She looks forward to it, we’re here every week”
“She’s our elf at Christmas time, our fireworks on the Fourth of July. She’s our St. Valentine on Valentine’s day so she’s always here” said resident Stephanie Hall.
When the senior care facilities closed to all visitors because of coronavirus, Pat knew they had to find a way for Baby to still make her visits.
“We created a way where we can just go to the windows and keep everyone safe”
The seniors at the facility, grateful for every visit.
“Everybody loves her, yeah they do, she’s a sweetheart”
Beloved Surf Therapy Dog
The world is filled with a lot of surfing dogs but most often, the ones who garner the most appreciation and love from the community are the handful of popular surf therapy dogs whose affinity for riding waves brings genuine comfort to those in need. Earlier this week, the beloved Haole passed away at home in Ventura after seven years of riding waves and making people smile along the way as an ambassador for A Walk On Water’s surf therapy programs. It was 21 months to the day since he’d been diagnosed with cancer, so it’s fitting that his owner described him as “the epitome of a warrior” along the way.
“This could turn into a book if I described everything about Haole – his personality, his giving heart, his old soulful eyes, his temperament, his love, guidance, commitment, dedication, bravery, smile, surfing ability, accomplishments, brotherhood, companionship, his organic ability to form long-lasting relationships, literally I could go on and on,” Haole’s Instagram account said on the day of his passing. “There will be no other like him and he may no longer live on this Earth, but he will forever live in our hearts, and I believe everyone’s heart that he met.”
The 12-year-old ambassador started surfing when he was five after “he told his parents” he wanted to ride waves by climbing on his owner’s board. For some time, he was a competing surf dog before retiring and working with the non-profit A Walk on Water, which provides surf therapy to children and adults with special needs.
“No one who witnessed Haole on a wave could possibly forget that image of grace and athleticism,” the non-profit said in its own tribute. “More than a dog who could surf, Haole was a surf therapist in the truest sense of the word.”
John and Kim Murphy, Haole’s parents, say they were able to take him out for one last wave just a few days before passing away.
“He was excited to get on his board and do what he and his Dad did so many times,” they said, sharing a video of Haole’s last session. “On this wave is a 12-year-old warrior that literally never gave in. We had no idea that three days later we would lose him, but the memories, love, surf sessions and lives he touched will fill the void in our hearts.”
Therapy Dog Parade
With everything going on in the world, we could all use a little extra love. So, Yale New Haven Hospital found a way to bring back their beloved therapy dogs.
“We have an amazing team of therapy dogs, about 24 between our two campuses and our off-sites, and they are so missed,” said volunteer coordinator Virginia Kulig. “They miss coming in as well so the human handlers tell us the dogs are really missing work so one of my volunteers suggested to me, ‘why don’t we have a parade.’”
The event really was the first of its kind at Yale New Haven Hospital, bringing together more than a dozen of the hospital’s therapy dog volunteers.
Usually, these dogs are very busy.
“Last year between all of our campuses the dogs had about 35,000 encounters, so they’re touching the lives of many people who are in our facilities,” said Kulig.
Now, more than ever, they wanted to do something to show their appreciation for healthcare workers.
“So besides the patients that will be able to see this, this is really for the caregivers who are on those front lines every day as a way of saying thank you,” she said.
Newest Member Of Vernon RCMP
The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP is welcoming a new member to its ranks.
New Police Service Dog Nelly is 10 weeks old. Every year, the RCMP holds a puppy naming contest with a different letter of the alphabet chosen. This year, the letter ‘N’ and her name was selected from the Quebec submissions, according to Cpl. Tania Finn, media relations officer with the Vernon RCMP.
“Nelly is part of the RCMP puppy program and she lives with an RCMP officer who is working toward become a police service dog handler. Her puppy handler will be responsible for teaching her to track across various terrain as well as expose her to many different situations and conditions,” she said via email.
Ever four months, Nelly will be tested, and if she passes, she’ll enter the official police dog training at the RCMP Kennels in Alberta when she’s roughly one-and-a-half years old.
“Very few puppies make it to Alberta and even fewer become police dogs. Those dogs that are not successful in the puppy program are adopted and become family pets,” Finn said via email.
There are currently two police service dogs at the Vernon detachment. Cpl. Kyle works with PSD Jagger and Cst Rutten works with PSD Hawkes, Finn said via email.
“Being a police service dog handler is a big commitment as the police dog lives and works with their handler 24/7 throughout the career of the police dog. The pair develop a close bond which is crucial to ensuring a successful police dog as the handler learns every aspect of the dog’s personality and capabilities,” Finn said via email.
Therapy Dog Gets Honorary Degree
This dog is more than just a good boy — he’s an honorary doctor of veterinary medicine.
Meet Moose, an 8-year-old therapy dog at Virginia Tech’s Cook Counseling Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. Since 2014, Moose has worked with thousands of students and aided more than 7,500 counseling sessions, according to owner Trent Davis, a licensed counselor and coordinator of animal-assisted therapy.
Davis said he was told by the school’s dean, that Moose would be an honorary 2020 graduate during the virtual commencement and would receive an official honorary doctorate in veterinary medicine.
“[Moose] is going to get a diploma and everything,” said Davis. “I guess, a little caveat is that he is a dog. He can’t actually apply for a job. Although, he would be a pretty good veterinarian.”.
It’s happy news for Moose in the wake of a few challenging months for the beloved Labrador retriever. In February, a week after his eighth birthday, Moose was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“We noticed some blood on his urethra and I took him in,” said Davis, who noted that prostate cancer can be particularly aggressive in dogs because of the prostate’s position on the bladder. “He started treatment immediately.”
After months of treatment and with the generous help of a few human colleagues, Moose was able to return home last week, said Davis.
“He’s doing chemo and doing great. He’s a happy camper,” said Davis. Moose is one of four therapy dogs at the Cook Counseling Center, and has made a grand impact within the Virginia Tech community that he serves, said Davis. “A lot of people say to me, ‘Well, how does the therapy dog work?’ Well, [I bring Moose] in public and [people] are down on the ground, petting the dog and all of a sudden talking in a baby voice,” said Davis, whose dogs and human coordinators go through extensive therapy dog certifications. “[Dogs] provide a source of comfort and grounding. For a lot of humans, unfortunately, other humans haven’t always been the best to them in their lives, so dogs can be a little bit safer.”
“There are record numbers of [mental health concerns] on college campuses … When people keep saying ‘This is the best part of my day [when they’re with Moose],’ you start to believe that maybe there’s something to that,” added Davis.
According to Davis, Moose plans on celebrating his honorary degree by eating, sleeping and chasing a bally. Hopefully, if the weather is right, Moose plans on swimming, his favorite summer activity.
Service Dogs Going Virtual
Therapy dogs typically tasked with providing comfort and emotional support are now, like many workers, adapting to doing their job virtually.
Four-year-old Levi is part of Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Ministry and boasts more than 2,000 hours of training on how to help people.
Now he’s doing remote visits with the help of his handlers who say Levi knows it’s time to work when they put on his comfort dog vest.
“Sure, he’s never sat in front of a computer like this for as many hours as he has now,” explained Pam Miller with Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Ministry. “That’s just not a normal thing for a dog that visits people to do. For us to stick his face in front of a computer or ipad, in the beginning, I was putting a phone in front of him. He’s like, this is not a toy. Why do I want this? But he can hear the voices and, you know, he’s looking your way, and he listens.”
Miller said when he’s around people, he can actually sense who needs a little more attention, who needs some comfort.
She admitted that is hard to do over virtual. But noted that when he has his vest on, he knows he’s working, he knows he needs to be relaxed and pay attention to what we’re doing.
Service Dog Fostered
In March, Belmont resident Jane Slavin’s second dervice dog-in-training, Hershey, was placed as a Veteran Service Dog in the Boston area through Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). Slavin’s first CCI puppy, Galya, was placed in 2015 as a Facility dog at Gaylord Specialty Hospital in Connecticut.
Eight-week-old Hershey, a Labrador Retriever, arrived in Belmont in February 2018. A puppy raiser’s responsibility is to oversee the complete care of the puppy: feeding, grooming, socialization, basic manners, exercise, and veterinary care. Puppy Raisers teach the puppies 30 commands and get them used to wearing the “Gentle Leader” head collar which functions very much like a halter on a horse.
After 18 months with the Slavins, Hershey went to New York to complete CCI’s six to nine month advanced training program. In addition to standard Service Dog skills which include opening drawers and doors, retrieving items, pulling a wheelchair, and turning on and off lights, etc., Hershey was also given specialized training to assist a Veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This additional training included anxiety and nightmare interruption as well as learning to support his handler in crowded public situations.
Slavin is especially thrilled with Hershey’s placement because he had been volunteering at the Virginia in Bedford for several months and her father was a very proud World War II Ranger.
CCI is the oldest and largest U.S. assistance dog provider. They provide, at no cost, four kinds of assistance dogs, service, hearing, skilled companions, and facility dogs. Anyone interested in the program should visit the CCI.org site for more information.
