Dog Community

Incredibly cool day at pet therapy (Callie)

Posted : 6/1/2013 11:00:45 AM

Don't want to de-rail chat -- but we had a particularly great pet therapy morning. Had Give Kids the World this morning with Luna and Tink. both of them do really well there altho they are polar opposites in personality. Tink is "full throttle" all the time. Everything that dog does she does with verve and passion!! She doesn't just LIKE you ... she LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES you ... she isn't just happy to be there ... she's THRILLED!!. I've often said before how she has developed her own little "work around" -- she KNOWS she has to keep "4 on the floor" all the time. A "sit" is butt down, all 4 feet solidly on concrete. Not allowed to jump up or dance around on her hind legs. But but but .... the ebullient pug in a "sit" is a pug who wants to LAUNCH herself into space in enthusiasm usually -- and nope ... can't do that at GKTW. So -- she'll do a sit instantly ... but then she will throw herself prone on the concrete -- because if I"m layin down I won't be so tempted to JUMP from a sit!! Yep -- that's her own little "coping mechanism" SHE devised -- Luna on the other hand is FAR more placid. But it's not that she's more laid back -- it's simply sheer will!! You must NOT hurt a child (she gets that ... oh boy oh boy she GETS that and never ever has had to be told). So ... you just stand STILL as stone so you don't scare them. Of all the dogs we've ever taken to GKTW (like 8 I think over the years)-- she's the most controlled-on-her-own. BUT ... the challenge with her is she has a private war with the squirrels there and there are times when she becomes so squirrel-focused we have to disconnect her and leave because she loses focus on the kids b/c of squirrels. One little Wish Child -- very outgoing, gregarious, but with no dog saavy at all -- she had gotten a straw hat (supplied by the folks who bring therapy horses to GKEW every Saturday) -- this child was convinced she wanted to "give Luna her hat" to wear. She plopped that hat every way she could including totally over Luna's face and head -- and Luna just plain stood firm. She wasn't enjoying that part of it but she just stood rock solid. David and I talking her thru it -- allowing that very very sick child to have her moments of "playing with the doggie" -- she wasn't trying to be mean (far from it -- she reaally wanted Luna to "have" her hat!) There are times when it gets intense there -- but SO rewarding. The Mother was monitoring the child (making sure she wasn't hurting Luna) -- and honestly that Mother was SO thankful that child had her little bit of "fun" with the doggie. Tink's personality there is SO different -- when she encounters a child who is "too much" Tink ... being TINK ... will give them a slurp and ZOOM around to "say Hi" to another. It never occurs to Tink that someone might try to hurt her ... NOPE ... but she'll just flit away if something is less then comfy for her. Luna -- again such a different personality -- will just plain stand like a statue and not move nor blink because she knows it's her job. Both dogs are such successful therapy dogs -- from 180 degree apart perspectives. But I'm so proud of both of them. But Luna got BIG praise today (from the Mother as well, actually). I"m humbled anew -- Pet therapy is SO different from being a "companion animal" or the rescue work like Julie does. But seeing an animal relate from the heart to a child ... it never ceases to move me and make me very fulfilled. Two other little boys came up -- both likely inner city children -- Mom was the dog-lover, but she told us BOTH boys were terrified of dogs. David and I both volunteered that Luna and Tink are good ones to "start with" if they wanted to expose the boys safely to "nice dogs" IF they wanted. Again it was one of those golden moments. The boys saw Mom liked the dogs ... saw the Certificates they got ... and saw that Luna was standing as still as a statue. We gave them time and both boys ultimately did pet both dogs, completely agog that these dogs were "nice". The older boy (maybe 4?) sort of zooming in and tapped Luna on her mid-back and zoomed away. But when I told him "touch her lightly right behind her ears -- it is the softest place EVER!" -- with Mom's encouragement he DID approach her and petted her neck for a long time (eyes as big as saucers when it registered how soft her coat is there). It feels good on a day like this. Not every one is exciting -- and particularly at GKTW it is VERY different every time we go because it's all new people, and all different kids (with diseases and medicines that "smell" different) and a massively different variety of ages, personalities and all of them "strange". But there are some days that are just more memorable than others. For anyone lurking who has considered pet therapy -- it is wildly different depending on where you go. working at a nursing home and going to an Alzheimer's facility are actually very different. Working with developmentally challenged kids again is a whole different deal. Hospital work or work with critically ill children -- again it's a whole different thing. Don't think your dog has to be "perfect" to love pet therapy. And you don't have to be certified before you begin -- in fact, most certifying organizations require you to be "working somewhere" BEFORE you start the certification process because they want to observe the dogs AT "work" in order to pass them. I just love what we get to see there -- being a part of those special "once in a lifetime" moments for those children.

tacran

Posted : 6/1/2013 4:23:46 PM

Thanks for sharing those experiences, Callie. Although we never did therapy/visitation work to the degree you and David do with GKTW, we were a Delta Society Pet Partners team with Tonka years ago. We visited patients at the long-term care unit at a local hospital. It was very rewarding, and we had several experiences where we could tell Tonka truly affected a patient in a very positive way.

We never saw children in that environment, but I remember feeling something similar to what you described when we brought him to our neighbor's Kindergarten class. She LOVED Tonka (she used to say she was going to marry him), and she wanted to bring him to show-and-tell. Luckily, she went to a private Pre-K/Kindergarten school that was very open minded about things like that, so they were happy to have us bring him. It still makes me teary to think of how awesome he was up there in front of the class with our little neighbor telling her classmates he was her best friend and little facts about him.

Most of the kids were thrilled to pet him, but there were a couple who were clearly terrified of him. It was such an awesome thing to see those couple children eventually get the courage to just touch his side (while standing as far away as possible). When they finally built up a bit of confidence, they got closer and pet his ears and seemed to lose their fear. It made me feel so good to see how he seemed to know which kids to remain totally still and calm for, giving them some time to come near. It was cool to see the happy looks on those kids' faces when they realized they were PETTING the BIG DOG!!! I hoped that the good experience with Tonka would help them progress with their dog interactions after that.

Something I always wished I'd done with Tonka was one of those children's reading programs where kids read to pets to build their reading skills and confidence. We didn't have a program around here then, but there's something like it at the library now. Unfortunately, Ruby isn't a good candidate for that. She's far too hyper when she's near lots of people; she'd never sit calmly while a child read to her.

Anyway, there are so many rewarding activities to do with our dogs -- things that help others in big ways!

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/2/2013 2:28:04 PM

I thot it was simply such a good example -- when you do anything like this with your dog you have to be protective. You can't just hand a leash to a child and walk away or let the dog sit with a child wthout you right there. It's too eacy for a child to suddenly display a behavior that could be misconstrued as threatening (like the child who kept trying over and over to "put the hand on" Luna. The mother AND I both had our hands right there to avert potential disaster. Luna was handling it like a champ, and had I simply grabbed her away it would have devastated the child. There are MANY different types of pet therapy. They're all good -- and the neat thing is there are so many different types of situations that it's pretty easy to find something that fits *your dog's* personality and yours.

griffinej5

Posted : 6/3/2013 6:52:55 AM

Luke is certified through TDI Inc, and he did have to be certified before he could go out to visit. Just wanted to mention that to anyone who was thinking of doing it. Around here, they do have to be certified. I was going to take him to do the reading programs, but he couldn't because he is certified through TDI. There is a group here that does the reading programs, and TDI doesn't allow you to go under the name of another group. Oh well. It turned into something great for Luke. He goes to the nursing home across the street instead. He visits one floor that has some more permanent residents, and people coming in for short stints of rehab. He also visits the dementia floor. It's pretty awesome the way some of the people on the dementia floor light up when he comes to visit. There are people sleep all day, who don't wake up for anything, who will wake up to see Luke. One of Luke's best friends passed away a month or two ago. We never had a clue what he and Luke were talking about, but he always lit up when he saw Luke, and they said there wasn't really anything else he got excited about. Luke is so happy to go in there, though he still hates the elevators, and sometimes he doesn't like the sounds. A few weeks ago, and alarm went off down one hall way, and he refused to go down there. He just wanted to get off that floor. Funny thing is, the floor he really wants to be on is the dementia floor. The other floor doesn't always have many people to see him because they go out more. There will always be a few people to say hi to him on the dementia floor.

Luckily, with the people with dementia, when we need to snatch Luke away quickly, they don't remember for long that we did it. They unfortunately don't remember for too long what we tell them about how to pet the dog. We just tell them he's going to go visit someone else, and he'll come back. Because he's so short and most people are in wheelchairs, he gets picked up most of the time. So, depending on what they did, he gets turned backwards, and they can still pet him, or those people will just look if they can't trusted to be nice to Luke. He doesn't mind something done to him once, and it's bound to happen, but repeated harassment obviously can't be allowed.

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/3/2013 1:06:50 PM

Oh I am SO pleased you chimed in. I have been doing pet therapy since before it was *called* pet therapy. (Used to be just "bringing my dog to work where I taught developmentally disabled kids). There are SO SO SO SO MANY different varieties. And there are actually many different certifying groups. Originally with Muffin, Foxy and Socks -- we went through Bright and Beautiful out of NY. At that time I tried to get into Delta but Muffin was deaf (he literally had no "ears" -- he'd had bilateral ear ablations) and they were completely disinterested in both ME (because I wasn't ambulatory) and Muffin (because I would occasionally need to use "touch" signs with him). The Delta group here in central FL at that time just wasn't good. But Jen makes this HUGE point -- pet therapy is many things to many people. Those with dementia -- they tend to relate to the dog on a really open, "innocent" level altho there can be individuals who aren't comfortable. Alzheimer's homes or units -- a bit different, but again they LOVE seeing the dogs -- you may get asked 911 times in one 5 minute visit "Is it a boy or girl" or "What's his name?" (when you JUST got that out of your mouth for the 50th time?) For many of the elderly it is the high point of their week -- maybe they were dog people when younger -- maybe they're just bored to tears ... but it's wonderful. I love working with the elderly but honestly my husband prefers working with the children. And we've worked with deaf kids (with Muffin), several children's hospitals in the area, and group homes with developmentally disabled kids and, Give Kids the World (which are more like hospitalized children). It's not for everyone. But given that David and I have never been able to have kids, but we both *wanted* them badly -- this has been a wonderful thing for us to do together. There are TONS of others I haven't even mentioned -- there is a LOT of work done with pet therapy with returning military folks injured in Iran ... programs for youth (particularly kids in trouble at school and with the law). In short -- whatever YOUR activity level and whatever YOUR desires and background are -- if it interests you at all look around where you are. Often people say to me "Oh Poochie could NEVER do that - he can't sit still long enough" -- but you know what? That teen in trouble who gets interested in obedience (or Rally or other things) -- they may LIKE your rambunctious dog. Years ago -- one of the first dogs we fostered was named Luna (not short for Lunabella -- literally it was short for 'Lunatic Dog' LOL). Someone had found her dumped at Animal Kingdom (Disney finds stuff like that ALL the time) She wound up on our doorstep because she had demodex and sarcoptic manges ... but wow -- was she ever a handful!! But ... she got adopted by a couple who were active with FFA (Future Farmers of America) and a few other local ag-based groups. One 14 year old girl took Luna on to get "points" for an award to train her in obedience. Longer story short -- she wound up eventually going to STATE with her and this rambunctious foster dog WON "best in show" for their state trials. BUT THE GIRL benefitted too. Apparently she was one of those kids always in trouble ... pet therapy. Comes in all shapes, sizes, needs and time constraints. I just left there Saturday again in love with what we are able to do. Sometimes it's just little tiny things -- like those two little boys finding a dog who "wasn't mean" .... (and the mother who left in tears because she'd never been able TO expose the boys in a "safe" environment. And different dogs like different environments -- Billy HATED GKTW. Too fast, too rowdy, too many little blond girls and noisey families. He loved that group home for dev. disabled kids -- which a lot of dogs would be completely wigged out because of all the yelling and screaming you hear. So many of you already do volunteer work -- this is just our passion. And I can tell you -- the fact that David and I do this together is beyond "the best" way to spend time with my husband LOL - please excuse the big paragraph -- I'm on chrome again. *sigh*

JackieG

Posted : 6/3/2013 1:45:12 PM

Tracy, I thought about you this morning when I read an article about a group of therapy dogs who visit airports. They're called PUPS. Pets Unstressing Passengers. Seems they are mostly in CA. They help people with anxiety about flying and folks who are flying due to deaths in the family. I'd probably miss my flight if I saw them in an airport because I'd not want to quit petting the dogs. lol

tacran

Posted : 6/3/2013 3:42:22 PM

That's a great idea! At least while I was petting them, I'd be distracted from the "anticipatory dread" that consumes me while waiting to board the flight. Love the acronym/title -- too funny!

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/3/2013 4:30:30 PM

JackieG
They're called PUPS. Pets Unstressing Passengers. Seems they are mostly in CA. They help people with anxiety about flying and folks who are flying due to deaths in the family. I'd probably miss my flight if I saw them in an airport because I'd not want to quit petting the dogs. lol

Wow -- you and I both. Wouldn't that make a long wait easier! Like I said -- there are so many diverse ways to do this -- Luna & Tink both have their CGCs but it's been hard to get connected with a good trainer to continue ... I had a trainer we were working with and we went thru the CGC (and they knew we were working to get certified) and then out of left field AFTER we got the CGCs we were told that the test would be "quite different" -- NOT what I was led to believe about TDI, Inc's way of doing things. So now I'm looking for another trainer (because that one wasn't "good" -- way too "yank and jerk" for me. & they call themselves "positive" *sigh*)

griffinej5

Posted : 6/4/2013 9:06:42 PM

Luke is certified through TDI because that was the first test I could find in the area, and they had it in conjunction with the CGC. I actually checked out another group, or tried to at least, but the woman I was supposed to meet with was a no-show.

Yes, the people with dementia do repeatedly ask the same questions, at least the ones who do speak. One week one woman who really loves Luke actually remembered his name when he came to see her. She has never since, but the fact that she remembered him just that once was great. Usually when we go in, they are just about to do fitness, so he goes in and visits the people doing fitness first, then sees the people who don't do fitness. The one who remembered him the one week and I sort of like to joke around and tease about fitness. She refuses to participate in it, and usually refuses to participate in most activities. She never refuses to participate in seeing Luke, and will wake up for a few minutes to see him even if she won't for other things.

Luke has been to work with me, and he has been harassed by kids plenty. He's okay with it to a point, but I think he is happier to be somewhere calmer and quieter, where the people are generally appropriately behaved around dogs. They may do something like reach over the head, but they won't pull ears, grab tails, chase the dog around (they're all in wheelchairs pretty much so they can't). Luke deals with that for a while, but I've had to tell kids that when the dog walks away from you, that means he wants a break. When we've had to move Luke along, which has been only twice so far, we just do, and they forget that we did this because they did something wrong. They don't get upset that they got into trouble like the kids might. Of course, it is tough when you go and someone is gone who was there last week. A few of Luke's favorite people have passed away in the time he's been going. The one floor we go into rooms, and he knows certain rooms were they usually like to see him.

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/5/2013 7:34:30 AM

griffinej5
Of course, it is tough when you go and someone is gone who was there last week. A few of Luke's favorite people have passed away in the time he's been going. The one floor we go into rooms, and he knows certain rooms were they usually like to see him.

That's a hard part of any sort of senior-type visiting. But as you mentioned the rewards are great when you know you gave them a happy moment.

I've done pet therapy with many, many dogs -- one one hand many dogs are really adaptable to various circumstances and people. But on the other hand, I always think it's really incredible when a dog picks a "niche" where they shine ... and maybe it's not a situation other dogs would be happy in. I really enjoy finding that niche for the dog that may otherwise not enjoy typical pet therapy situations but they bloom in others.

shadowsgin

Posted : 6/7/2013 3:46:23 PM

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading this thread. I have always thought that pet therapy whether it be "certified" or like us where Shadow, Rocky and HotShot have been a tremendous help with Ron's "stay-at-home" lifestyle. I would love to get involved with pet therapy but for now we will just enjoy the "at home" pet therapy :)