Pet Pals Portraits
On Sunday all the dogs in the Pet Pals Program came in for their twice annual vet check. It’s fun for us because it’s a great chance for us to say hello to the other teams and meet some of the new dogs. It’s also a chance for me to play with my camera and take some photos of the remarkable dogs in this program. We see children and their families at the American Family Children’s Hospital, many of whom are very ill or badly injured, and all of our dogs have to be quiet, sweet and basically bomb proof. I joke about them acting like “semi-stuffed dogs,” but believe me, their hearts are all alive and beating with love. Here’s to them, and all they do.
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About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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Patricia is known the world over for her clear and engaging books and DVDs on dog training and canine behavior problems. You can also “meet” Patricia in person on her seminar DVDs, from The Art & Science of Canine Behavior to Treating Dog-Dog Reactivity.
I think therapy dogs and their pet parents are love incarnate.
This makes me think of recent Laura Erickson’s Great Great bird podcast called Bucket List- thoughts that went through her mind as she was suffering a heart attack, one was the pup she wanted to adopt, as well as flocks of chickadees and beloved family—so grateful for you and her too.
LOVE THIS!!!!! How lucky to meet all these amazing dogs!
Thanks for the sweet portraits. It’s nice to see a Dalmatian among the therapy dogs.
This is so great – both the program and the pictures!
So sweet. If I ever have a dog with the right temperament (my current dogs are pretty much the opposite of bomb proof), I definitely want to join a program like this.
What sweet faces! Especially the oldster at top!
Yesterday was the day that the therapy dogs visited the university where I work. (It’s for the students-but doggies!!)
Anyway I’ve finally become enough tuned into dog body language to ‘read’ the dogs there and it’s been eye-opening to say the least. This was an hour into the visit, but of the 4 dogs there only one was actually enjoying interacting with people. (She kept asking for more! whenever I’d stop scratching her.) None of them were distressed and they got outside/walk around breaks, but it was interesting when one student was enthusing to a dog’s person about what a fun this was for the dog-when the dog had turned it’s head away from everybody and was just looking away/not interacting at all. And the dog’s handler said “Oh yes, he really enjoys it!” Um, not really. Next year I’m going to check in early to see how enthusiastic they start out. I suspect the dogs were just getting a little tired.
It’s kind of exciting to be able to tell that I’m learning ‘dog’ finally. Thanks for all the posts that make me think.
Love seeing all the different breeds. I run a Reading to Dogs program and we are WAY over-represented in goldens and labs, but I’ve also had/have amazing poodle mixes, corgis, pit bulls, a charismatic unidentifiable mixed breed and a titled Beauceron.
Oh, oh, those sweet greying muzzles. There’s nothing like it, nothing.
I love all the portraits and I know first hand what amazing work these dogs do. I see it in action several times a week. Ranger is a therapy dog with Therapy Dogs International and visits schools, libraries, rehab centers, memory care units, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. It fills my heart to bursting to enter the memory care unit and have residents recognize and remember Ranger, or residents who haven’t spoken in weeks find their voice to talk to him. And watching the kid with ADHD who couldn’t settle to anything all day and has been driving the teaching team to distraction calm down while reading to Ranger and petting him is amazing. So is seeing all the faces light up when our dogs enter the room. Sometimes I joke that holding his leash must be a taste of what it’s like to be part of a celebrity entourage.
On a recent visit to a local nursing home which has a very liberal pet visit policy allowing people’s pets to come and visit them as long as they are up to date on vaccinations we bumped into the CEO in the hallway. He stopped to admire our dogs and get a little pet therapy of his own. He expressed his gratitude for all our visits and confided that he can always tell when we’re there with our therapy dogs because the whole facility feels better; everyone is calmer, less hurried, less stressed, and happier. That’s not the case when it is simply pets that are visiting. Because our dogs are trained to a high standard and are calm no matter what is happening around them that calm spreads out through the whole building.
I’m always entertained watching the same dogs that are goofballs while we wait for the other teams to arrive, or are bouncy klutzes sweeping the table clear of magazines with their wildly wagging tail, or inviting the other dogs to play despite the best efforts of their partner to prevent it suddenly don their working personas when we head into the residential wings and become calm, well mannered, perfectly well behaved dogs who are there with a job to do. They are all so serious about their job of making people feel better and have a wonderful instinct for the right thing to do. I’ve never figured out how Ranger knows which residents are blind but with them when he hears them respond “yes” to the questions “Would you like a visit from a dog” he walks close and puts his nose under their hand so that they know immediately where he is. It’s amazing watching a therapy dog at work. This is a serious job to them but they truly love their work.
I love the “white faces” in the group. Nothing like hard-won canine wisdom.
Thank you for all the lovely photos.
One of my huskies and I have been a pet therapy team for nearly six years, volunteering for hospice for over five years. It has completely changed my life in ways I never expected. What a joyful and meaningful experience. I’ve watched my dog connect with people in powerful and significant ways. He’s reached dementia patients, calmed violent people and played the clown to get a laugh out of depressed people.
Most of the therapy dog programs will not allow my dogs to participate because we feed raw.
I’ve been so busy and “crabby” due to work load…this is my first break in a while to visit the blog. I’m humbled. My problems are superficial. I’m thankful for all the wonderful people and dogs who extend their lives to help others.