A Shelter Dog’s Life

The sound of paws and claws precedes Isabella’s entrance. She bursts out of the Worcester Animal Rescue League’s front door, dragging Sara McClure, WARL’s dog program coordinator, behind her. McClure has two hands on Izzy’s bright red leash as the pit bull mix comes barreling into the parking lot. McClure motions for me to take a few steps back to give Izzy a little bit of space; she can be uneasy around strangers.

Izzy is alert but curious as she runs circles around McClure, investigating all the new sights and smells. McClure watches proudly as Izzy prances around the parking lot.

“I spend more time with these dogs than I do my own,” she says.

Izzy is a three-year-old barrel-chested pit bull mix with squat, wide-set legs. A splash of white fur coats her chest, neck and the tips of three paws, standing out brightly against the rest of her dark fur. Ears that flop asymmetrically frame dark intelligent eyes. The slash of a scar runs across the bridge of Izzy’s nose.

Izzy pulls close to me as I show her the treats in my hand.

“If she sees you have cookies, she’ll do anything you want,” McClure says. Izzy enthusiastically snatches the food from my hand. McClure showers her with praise. McClure says she is impressed with Izzy’s reaction to me, as this would not have been how she behaved several months ago.

“You have teeth in there,” I say laughing, as Izzy grabs the last treat off my fingers.

“She’s very exuberant with treats. Good girl, Izzy. Good job,” McClure says, laying it on thick. “She’s got a really cute trick too.”

It takes Izzy a second to refocus on McClure.

“Sit. Down. Rollover,” McClure says. Izzy obliges and flails over onto her back before hopping to her feet for a treat. She sits easily in front of McClure, tongue hanging out of her mouth. McClure is one of Izzy’s favorite people.

Izzy has been with WARL since February, meaning she is coming up on almost nine months at the shelter. She was brought in as a pregnant stray. The person who brought her in said that they had just found her a few weeks prior, but McClure is skeptical of that story.

“Someone taught her to rollover before she came to us. She was somebody’s pet,” McClure says. All of Izzy’s puppies were quickly adopted out to loving families, leaving her in need of a home.

“She’s come a long way. When she first arrived, she was difficult in the kennel. Did a lot of growling, a lot of lunging,” McClure says. “Two months ago she wouldn’t have behaved like this.”

McClure pats Izzy affectionately.

“This has been practice. This has been training. This has been just meeting people,” McClure adds.

Whatever happened to Izzy before coming to WARL left her fearful and distrusting of people. But, McClure and Izzy’s other favorite staff members have been working hard with her to show her that the world isn’t as scary as she thinks. She has settled in reasonably well to WARL’s routine while she waits for her forever home.

McClure and the rest of the staff arrive at 8 a.m., and Izzy is always up and waiting when the lights flick on. Izzy knows that means food and pets.

“I say good morning to all the dogs, but especially to the Izzy’s of the group. Because they’ve been here so long, they’re essentially like my dogs,” McClure says. Izzy’s extended stay with WARL, and the amount of time McClure has spent working with her, has given McClure a special fondness for Izzy. After breakfast and a trip to the bathroom outside, Izzy is brought back to her kennel. Every time a staff member enters the kennels, they are met with enthusiastic barking, Izzy’s voice included.

The rest of her day is broken up between time spent in the kennel and walks by volunteers and staff. Izzy is a puller and incredibly high-energy, so the experienced dog walkers have the pleasure of taking her out. McClure calls her a little Energizer Bunny, among other nicknames.

“She’s got more energy than I can handle,” McClure says with a laugh. Then comes dinner, the bathroom, tuck-ins, and goodnights. The lights turn out at 5 p.m. as the staff heads for home. Izzy wakes up the next morning to do the same routine over again.

“My main focus is taking in dog surrenders, handling the intake of strays, handling the adoptions, and making sure the dogs have everything they need while they’re here,” McClure says. Her office has a dog bed, a shelf stuffed with dog toys, a rack of leashes, and tons of dog pictures. “Every dog is an individual, some more than others. So I make sure that they have enrichment, their walks, and toys. I get to know their personalities and try to fit them with the best possible adopters.”

Many of the adoptable dogs at WARL have appointments throughout the day to meet with potential adopters. Izzy doesn’t have any appointments on the books at the moment, so her schedule remains the same. So, today’s trip to the parking lot is something special. Part of the lack of interest in Izzy is her breed. Pit bull-type dogs are heavily stigmatized, which can make adopting them out hard. Izzy also has particular needs when it comes to a forever home, so McClure has to be pickier when looking at adoption applications for her.

“She would be a great hiker or runner,” McClure says. Izzy watches the road, then the trees off to the side of the parking lot, and then the road again. Her nose twitches and her tail wags.

“She probably didn’t have the best first three years of her life,” McClure adds. “Which makes it all that much more important that she have a great rest of her life.”

Izzy remains cheerful and excited to play, despite her long months at WARL. Her daily life will continue to follow the same routine as McClure strives to make her stay as comfortable and stress free as possible. McClure and the staff adore Izzy but will be elated when the right family finally comes along.

“She’s a great dog,” McClure says. “She’s going to make someone very happy. We just have to wait for the right person.”

Veterans Court Therapy Dog

Howard County Superior Court II Judge Brant Parry stood in his courtroom last week and looked around like he had lost something.

“You want to see her?” he asked, still looking around the mostly empty room.

A few moments later, a brown fluff of fur came bounding through an open back door, prompting instant smiles on all the faces sitting nearby.

Her name’s Kadence, and she’s an 11-month-old chocolate Labradoodle.

But she’s no ordinary dog, Parry is quick to point out.

Purchased through a grant from the state of Indiana, Kadence — KD for short — is the new therapy dog for Howard County’s problem solving courts like Veterans Court and Mental Health Court.

She also helps the probation department and juvenile programs too.

A dog of many hats, Parry noted.

“I’ve seen for a long time how you have individual service dogs that you use with people or just general therapy dogs that are in facilities,” Parry said while sitting in his office before a recent gathering of Veterans Court. “So I started mulling that in my head, and I thought it’d be a good idea. Between Veterans Court and Mental Health Court, we have a lot of people that suffer from anxiety, PTSD, those types of things.

“And when they have to come into court or meet with their probation officer on a regular basis, it causes them great stress and anxiety,” he continued. “… So we decided to apply for a grant and purchase a dog that could be trained, not for one individual purpose but for an entire group of people.”

So last February, Parry and a few others enlisted the help of Darren Petty, owner and operator of Indianapolis-based Indiana Working Dogs.

Petty even drove to Sheridan to handpick Kadence from the rest of her litter when she was just 8-weeks-old.

“One of the things when you’re picking out something for a project like this is that you’re trying to minimize the chance that the dog won’t work out,” Petty said during a telephone interview with the Tribune. “Not every dog can be a therapy dog. Not every dog can be a service dog. So one of the things I looked at was her puppy temperament testing results. And she did very well. … She’s got a great personality.”

Petty has seen that personality many times over the past few months too, as he’s been the dog’s primary trainer.

Kadence even spent three consecutive weeks recently with Petty at his facility down in Indianapolis, learning advanced obedience skills that will prepare her for upcoming therapy dog certification testing.

“COVID has stopped it [the therapy dog certification testing], and we’re waiting for that to open back up,” Petty said. “So right now, it’s just really important that she gets lots of practice just getting comfortable in the courtroom and with people being around her.”

And Kadence — who stays with Parry’s family — genuinely loves being around people too.

“I take her to work every day,” Parry said. “… And when I get ready to leave in the morning, she knows she’s going to work. She loves it. I let her out and put her leash on, and she sits by the door ready to go.”

Parry added that the people at the courthouse — specifically those in his problem-solving courts — are just as fond of Kadence.

“I think the benefits of having her here are endless,” he said. “The idea is to just kind of take the anxiety levels down a couple notches that they would normally feel when they have to come to the courthouse and meet with a probation officer or come to court and meet with a judge. I think coming here and having the friend who doesn’t ask for anything from them and just wants to say hello to them and is just excited to see them is great.

“If you can have that, ‘OK, I have to go to the courthouse because I have to see my probation officer and check in, but KD is going to be there while I’m talking to my case manager,’ it makes it easier,” Parry added. “I think having someone that doesn’t want anything from you other than to just be your friend and show love is important, whether it’s a human or man’s best friend.”

Veterans Court Coordinator Richard Cotterell agreed with Parry, noting that even the dog’s name was carefully picked out for her overall duty.

“Cadence has to do with rhythm,” he said. “It’s a military term as well, and we put it out there on social media for some folks to come up with a name for her. Someone submitted Kadence, with a K. And just like cadence has to do with rhythm, our veterans are out of rhythm right now because of some of the issues they’re facing. And Kadence is part of trying to help them get back into that rhythm. She’s part of that treatment.”

Painted Paws Helps Veterans

When Tyler Warrick came home from serving in the Iraq war, he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

“My little dog, Moose, gave me a purpose to get up every day and deal with life,” he says.

That was the genesis of Painted Paws for Veterans, a nonprofit operating in Peyton that rescues dogs from across the United States, as well as locally, and helps train them to serve as companions to war veterans.

In October, the compound sheltered 74 dogs and a few cats as well. “We’re a big, big sanctuary,” says Warrick, who runs the nonprofit with his wife, Sara.

The name, Painted Paws, comes from the fact that canines are born one color and don’t show their spots, in the case of a Dalmatian, or other markings until they are 6 to 8 weeks old, Warrick says.

Both he and his wife are certified trainers who prep dogs to be service dogs. “We actually pick out the ones in the litters that have the right personalities for service work,” he says. But some dogs are adopted just as companions.

As the website explains, “We love our pregnant moms. We bring them to the Ranch and provide them with the medical care they so badly need during those critical weeks. We help them bring their babies into life and give them a safe place to grow. Once the puppies are old enough, we offer them to the general public for adoption. Our moms are often available for adoption as well, but they also have a lifetime home with us if necessary.”

Dogs come to the compound from kill shelters, and not all are immediately ready for adoption. Painted Paws is willing to take on dogs in need of rehab and give them a chance at a forever family, but they don’t accept dogs from people surrendering them for any reason.

“It is so critical for puppies to receive the proper socialization and obedience after they become part of a family,” the website says. “After they come to the Ranch, we provide them with the love, attention and structure they so desperately need. Many of these dogs go on to become our most successful adoptions.”

The dogs are available for visits with vets, who want to interact with the dogs but not take them home. They also visit nursing facilities and Veterans Administration hospitals.

The nonprofit is run by a four-member board and relies on 25 volunteers. Warrick and his wife are the only full-time paid employees.

“We actually have a veteran who’s been volunteering for years,” he says. “In the last six months, he was so happy to get a dog. It not only helps him deal with the effects from Iraq, but he has that buddy all the time who lets him be involved with life and gives him a better purpose.”

Warrick’s personal companion, a Westie/Wheaten terrier mix named Ollie (Moose died some years back), is like a full-time medic. “He helps me with my seizures,” he says. “If I hit the ground, he will run to my aid, lay over my arms so I don’t hurt myself.

“If he feels me getting stressed, he’ll put his paws on me to try to calm that trigger moment.”

Sara says Painted Paws’ annual budget is $120,000, which covers salaries and goes to house, feed and train the dogs in two large rehab kennels and 14 senior and disabled cottages, and provide veterinary care and nutrition.

“Every publicly donated dollar goes straight to the care of the dogs and program expenses,” she says via email.

Adoption visits are by appointment only. There is no charge to veterans to adopt a dog from Painted Paws.

“Vets can benefit from animals,” Tyler says. 

CK Police Dog

A police dog with the Chatham-Kent Police Service and his handler are being praised for their work over the past seven years, which has resulted in dozens of arrests and the seizure of thousands of dollars worth of illicit drugs.

K9 Officer Arry and Constable Rick Bertok received an official citation from the Chatham-Kent Police Services Board during its meeting on Tuesday morning for their “exemplary years of service and sacrifice.”

Arry is a Belgian Malinois who was born in Slovenia in 2012. In April 2013, he was imported by the Metro-Detroit Schutzhund and Police K-9 club and sold to the Chatham-Kent Police Service.

In the summer of 2013, Arry and Bertok attended an extensive canine handlers course and were officially certified as a dual purpose police canine.

The pair are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and help with tracking missing or wanted people, high-risk arrests, searching properties for evidence, apprehending suspects, as well as searching for firearms, narcotics and ammunition.

During their time, Arry and Bertok have attended 700 canine-related calls, achieving 75 arrests and recovering four firearms. During warrants and vehicle searches, Arry has detected an estimated $128,015 worth of illegal drugs and recovered nearly $12,000 worth of stolen property, which was able to be returned to its rightful owners.

In addition, Arry and Bertok won first place in agility, searching, obedience and apprehension at the U.S. Police Canine Association regionals in late 2018 as well as a number of other accolades throughout the years.

“Arry and constable Bertok remain beyond proficient and maintained an ‘above average’ during their training,” said Chatham-Kent Police chief Gary Conn. “This is in addition to mandatory yearly certifications through the Windsor Police Service Canine Unit.”

Since then, Arry has proved that he’s a very good boy.

Three-legged Therapy Dog

We here at NEWS CENTER Maine met Lucky at the start of 2019. Army veteran Christy Gardner was training him to be a therapy dog, and she brought him by the news station, while he was training with her older service dog, Moxie. Lucky was born a little different, with a right paw that didn’t form correctly; eventually his leg was amputated; sparking an incredible connection between him and Gardner, a double-amputee herself.

Dog Therapy

Holiday House Pet Resort and Training Center donated $1,020 to the nonprofit therapy dog organization Angel On A Leash. The funds were raised during the pet facility’s annual Halloween fundraiser taking portraits of dogs in costumes.

Proceeds were earmarked for AOAL’s day-to-day expenses to support the work by volunteers with their therapy dogs — called champion teams — that provide visits to area schools, senior care facilities and hospitals.

“AOAL is eager to get back to visiting and we are hopeful that some outdoor activities can resume in the spring,” said Bob Wharton, co-president of the Richboro-based organization. “Some of these activities could involve outdoor parades or putting on a show. In the past, members have gathered and shown tricks their dogs can do and performed other things like rally or agility. Champion teams are doing virtual visits, sending recordings and mailing notes with pictures of their dogs that are shared by the staff. In the meantime, we are developing other ways for our members to stay engaged such as offering refresher training classes and pet CPR certification.”

Canine Companion

A Maple Ridge family signed up for the Woof-a-Thon virtual challenge, all because of the positive impacts an autism service dog has had on their teenage son.

The recent fundraising challenge was created by BC & Alberta Guide Dogs, to raise needed money towards providing guide, autism service, and PTSD service dogs to individuals in need. And taking their efforts online due to COVID-19, the recent week-long drive raised approximately $26,000 for the cause.

Kai Chand and Rosie helped raised $100 of that. Kai is a 13-year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism when he was two years old. And Rosie is a black Labrador retriever and autism service dog that has been partnered with Kai.

Even though Kai now has his own autism service dog, the funds he and others raised recently will go towards ensuring other families like his have access to these highly trained service dogs.

Kai’s mom, Tara Allen, knew something wasn’t right when Kai was one and a half years old.

Her motherly instinct led her to make a visit to the doctor’s office.

She took her son to the doctor multiple times with concerns, but the physician reassured her everything was fine.

Wanting a second opinion, Allen took Kai to a pediatrician, who was quick to diagnose him with autism.

The diagnosis was a very important step for Allen and Kai, because it meant her son was eligible for the therapy he needed. But after the diagnosis, Allen needed to obtain an official medical document confirming so, which resulted in a one-year waitlist.

“We were told at one point he may never talk,” recounted Allen. But he proved them wrong.

From preschool, Kai received intense therapy – 30 hours a week. Once he went into Kindergarten, his therapy hours reduced – because funding for therapy decreases once a child is around five to six years old.

It was about that time that Allen was attending an autism walk and first discovered a pamphlet containing information about autism service dogs.

“I just thought the benefits of having an animal would be so good for him [Kai], so I signed him up,” explained his mother.

The process to obtain an autism service dog took years for the family, not to mention a hefty amount of paperwork to fill out – including accessing all of Kai’s medical records and autism diagnosis.

But the wait, Mom said, paid off.

Service dogs are selected and matched with their families depending on the child’s personality, the type of home, and the client’s needs, Allen expained.

The Maple Ridge family was matched with Rosie, and she’s been an invaluable asset to Kai.

Autism service dogs differ from regular companion dogs, because they are specially trained to service their host, Mom explained.

When she is out in public with her son, Allen will always bring Rosie along because the dog keeps Kai calm and prevents him from wandering off alone.

Some of the challenges Kai faces are certain noises and sounds that can trigger him, but Rosie is always alert, on duty, and ready to help.

“Rosie opens people’s eyes because Kai doesn’t look like he has autism, he just looks like a bratty child,” said Allen, noting that judgments and uneducated comments from strangers are not an uncommon in their daily life.

“People think he is a very rude teenage boy when, in fact, he’s sometimes struggling with that on outings…” said Allen. “Some people make remarks to Kai when he fails to make eye contact, or his speech is not what they perceive as normal or expected.”

When negative comments are directed at Allen and Kai, depending on the circumstances, Mom shares her son’s diagnosis – not as an excuse, but to help educate others.

More recently, Allen and Kai have faced new challenges as the teenager entered high school.

“He knows he has autism, he knows he’s a little bit different, so we try to find a way to help support him,” said Allen, noting that when her son is having really bad days, he relies on Rosie for emotional support.

Knowing how much of an asset Rosie has been to Kai, Allen said they are anxious to help out – as best they could– by taking part in the recent Woof-a-thon. And similarly, they’ll be quick to sign up for other fundraisers in future that can help ensure canines companions like Rosie can be there to help other kids, like Kai.

Iowa Student And Her Service Dog

Kayonna Topp, 43, endured the first year of her double master’s program with reoccurring episodes of stroke-like symptoms.

An Iowa State graduate student, Topp had been set to get a service dog, Kashi, in May. But due to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the process was delayed.

Kashi was trained through Paws & Effect, a program through which inmates prepare dogs for service. The program could take Kashi and her group out but did not have the next group of dogs ready for the inmates. Not wanting to leave the inmates without company as the pandemic further isolated them from the outside world, the program’s director decided to have dogs like Kashi stay within prison walls a bit longer.

“I wouldn’t have wanted (the program) to take Kashi away and not have that person have another dog to be able to have contact with,” Topp said. “That’s a horrible way to treat prison inmates.”

Topp and Kashi were reunited in September and a new batch of puppies entered North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City. Amid a statewide spike in COVID-19 cases and another lockdown of the prison, inmates will have the puppies as company this Thanksgiving.

Topp is pursuing a double master’s in community and regional planning and sustainable agriculture. She chose women’s role in agriculture in refugee camps for her thesis, and she aspires to work on Ghanaian refugee camps, a trip delayed by COVID-19, but still part of her plan.

The motivation to go back to school came after a near-death experience and years of medical issues, she said.

“I could die tomorrow, today or in 40 years. I don’t know how long I have,” Topp said. “What can I do as an individual to have an impact because I’m alive for some reason? And so maybe I need to try to fulfill that reason.”

A decade ago, Topp began experiencing seizures that she said feel like a fishbowl is placed on her head and cause her to feel weak and fall to the ground.

After she turned 40, she began to have transient ischemic attacks (TIA), a temporary period of symptoms similar to a stroke. After the first TIA, Topp couldn’t talk for three days.

“When I turned 40, the whole body fell apart,” Topp said.

Two months later, Topp’s primary care provider ordered tests when she did not like the sound of Topp’s cough — despite her tendency to get bronchitis. Doctors found blood clots in her lungs.

“Had she not found them, I would have died,” Topp said. “So she absolutely saved my life.”

Topp applied for a service dog once she could walk and had the energy to train one. She met Kashi earlier this year. Paws & Effect director Nicole Shumate had to make the tough decision to leave the dogs in the prison.

“We would much rather allow the guys (inmates) to have something familiar, such as their dog, while we work through this pandemic and see what we can do,” said Ashley Anderson, a Paws & Effect service dog trainer. “They don’t get to see family. They don’t have visitations. “They’re completely locked away from the world now with the pandemic.” “They’re completely locked away from the world now with the pandemic.”

The dogs particularly help inmates who suffer from depression, North Central activities director Joe Bush said.

“We’ve seen a lot of benefits from the dogs that come in here,” Bush said. “Pretty much it’s a good calming effect on offenders.”

Despite some of the handlers’ criminal histories, Anderson said, “when I go up there, all I see is just a bunch of great dog handlers that love their dogs.”

Kashi, a yellow lab, has been at Topp’s side for most of the fall semester. The last few months have been dedicated to personalizing the aid Kashi can provide.

Kashi has already alerted Topp of oncoming seizures. Topp is diabetic, and Kashi will be able to detect when she has low blood sugar.

Kashi helps Topp keep track of her medication —  25 pills a day — and she is still working on pressing handicapped buttons, Topp said, among other skills.

“I think overall my whole life is better,” Topp said. “She’s really good at staying with me. When she has her vest on, she knows she’s working, but she definitely still has puppy tendencies. She’s only a year and a half old.”

Shumate said a common misconception is that service dogs are always as austere as they are while on duty.

“When you get them home and take their vest off, they really are a pet dog,” Shumate said. “They are silly and they play with toys and they run around.”

When Kashi has her vest off, she is very much still a puppy, Topp said — and apparently, a diva, according to Anderson.

“She was the star,” said Anderson, who trained Kashi. “Nothing got her down. She wasn’t afraid of anything.”

Topp is looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with Kashi and her family, as well as cooking meals for students who have nowhere to go for the holiday.

Topp urges others with disabilities to pursue whatever they aspire to, whether that’s higher education or another path.

“The worst-case scenario is that you are in the same position we’re in right now. And the best-case scenario is that you’re doing something you enjoy, maybe not at the same pace as everybody else,” Topp said. “If you’ve got a big aspiration, go for it because you don’t know what kind of impact you could have.”

Therapy Dog Training

Brisbane woman, Ashleigh Annet never saw herself as a ‘dog person’ until she found herself completely smitten for a “little white Shih Tzu” at a family Christmas party in 2016.

A few months later, Ms Annet and her husband got a Maltese Shih Tzu named Lola and the pint-sized pup quickly became a special part of her life.

“She’s always been a really gentle, go-with-the-flow kind of dog. She loves people,” says Ms Annet.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky but she’s just so happy to sit on my lap and people watch. I try and take her out at least once on the weekend and people come over because she’s just got a really soft, gentle personality.”

Ms Annet credits Lola’s temperament to a mixture of nature and nurture. With a professional background in foster care, the 30-year-old was inspired to use a “force-free and positive reinforcement framework” when it came to Lola’s training.

“I work with kids in foster care and part of my job is to educate parents and carers on how to do therapeutic parenting and while Lola is a dog I used some of the therapeutic practices on her too,” she says.

“This looked like ignoring the behaviour we didn’t want to see, praising when we saw good behaviour, using lots of treats and redirecting.”

Although Lola’s personality has always been docile, friendly and patient, the idea to train her to become a volunteer dog came from Ms Annet’s grandma.

“She was in an aged care facility and I used to take Lola along,” she said. “We noticed some of the aged care residents would come up and talk to me, or come up to pat her which was nice.”

Then a colleague who volunteered with her dog – a rescue greyhound – told Ms Annet about Delta Society. The non-profit Australia-wide organisation co-ordinates programs where volunteer therapy dogs visit hospitals and aged care facilities, health clinics, correctional facilities and workplaces.

“We had to wait a bit until she was old enough to enrol her in the program – they have to be 18 months before they can get assessed – but Lola was already pretty well trained,” says Ms Annet.

“She was already interested in people, she already knew how to take food gently but the big thing we had to do was work on loose lead walking. That took a really long time and a lot of hard work.

“We started training in our lounge room where there were no distractions but when we progressed outside it would take 10 minutes to walk 10 meters.”

Once Lola became comfortable walking on a leash, she passed the Delta Society assessment with flying colours.

“It did feel a little bit like an exam. Dogs have their own kind of personalities and they have days where they’re a little less attentive,” she says. “But Lola was absolutely perfect”.

While Delta Society have currently paused their new volunteer intake due to COVID-19, Ms Annet only has encouraging words for anyone thinking of joining the program.

“Lola’s beautiful personality has allowed us an opportunity to volunteer our time with people that often lack human connection,” says Ms Annet. “This has enriched my life by allowing an opportunity to extend compassion and empathy out to others that are in need.”

Having passed their one-year anniversary with Delta Society in August this year, Ms Annet says she gets as much from the sessions as Lola does.

“It’s like Lola is a really nice ice breaker for people who are seeking out that connection,” she says.

“They’ll talk about dogs, share their fond memories and talk about how cute she is but it’s more of that connection with me over Lola.

“I wasn’t expecting that part of the process but it’s been really enjoyable.”

But it’s not just the pooches who are put under the microscope, Ms Kyiet says attributes of the owner are “equally important”.

“As volunteers could be placed in sensitive environments such as cancer wards, palliative care, correctional facilities, rehabilitation wards, or mental health services, they need to be able to approach their role with empathy, sensitivity, and resilience,” she adds.

“A Delta Therapy Dog Team may regularly attend a cancer treatment ward and meet outpatients who are receiving treatment on a weekly basis. In this setting the team becomes a part of the person’s treatment and healing.

“They may also meet with patients who are admitted to the hospital and who are facing the devastating reality of their illness. While our teams provide a comforting presence with friendly smile and paw-shake; our volunteers also need to be able to respond in a way that is mindful too.”

Ellory Gets A Service Dog

After a Blue Ash girl received a complex diagnosis, her parents have been on a mission to get her a service dog because they believe it would change her life dramatically.

Ellory McClure’s health journey started in late 2017 when her parents, Brian and Carolynn, say a tonsillectomy led to a change in her behavior. The typically friendly and smiling child started to act differently.

“We had full-on rages,” Carolynn said. “So a child who goes from just loves everybody [is now trying] to trying to strangle you, punch you, just attack you.”

Dozens of doctors appointments later, the McClures say they got a diagnosis. They were told Ellory has PANS.

“PANS means pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome,” Brian said.

According to Stanford Medicine, children with PANS often have obsessions, compulsions, depression and anxiety. Ellory, only 6, has experienced some of those symptoms.

“Really devastating just to watch her emotional state where she was this happy full of life kid to where we’ve literally heard suicidal comments,” Carolynn said. Ellory has trouble speaking and eating, and Carolynn says her immune system is compromised.