Since it is now September, I started thinking about back-to-school time. That made me think that Topo and Bowie should go back to obedience school and that made me think how I wish they could be therapy dogs.
Then that made me wonder if I know any therapy dogs. What is the process? And, most importantly, can I get a dog to write my column for me? Then I remembered that our pal C.C. in New Jersey could tell us! So, here is C.C. with her story:
My name is C.C., and I am a therapy dog. ‘What is a therapy dog?,’ you ask. Well, I’ll tell you; when I was a puppy, my mother took me to basic obedience school. She did very well, so I let her take me to three more levels of obedience. You don’t need that much to be a therapy dog, but I had to keep my mother busy!
Anyway, after I graduated and got my diplomas, I heard about visiting old people in nursing homes and told my mother I wanted to do that. She contacted the local animal shelter and found out that they offered testing to become a therapy dog through the Delta Society. We took the test and passed. I had to listen to my mother when she told me to sit, stay, down and come. Then I had to walk nicely on a leash and sit when my mother stopped walking. I had to walk through a noisy crowd; let a lot of people pet me at once; and let a stranger touch me all over and hug me. I also had to approach a person in a wheelchair, another who was using crutches and another who was using a walker. The last part of the test was the toughest; I had to stay in the room with strangers for two minutes while my mother went outside. (The shelter now does its own variation of the test, and my mother doesn’t have to leave me with the strangers). It wasn’t very hard at all, and I soon started visiting nursing homes.
After a while, I decided I wanted a change, so I visited a hospital where I saw people in the psychiatric (which was fun because I was in a large room and was off the leash), pediatric and post-surgical wards. I liked the variety at that hospital. Now, I visit a hospital that is closer to where I live, but they only allow us in the pediatric ward. I would like to visit other wards, but the doctors who don’t like dogs tried to keep us out of the hospital completely, so I guess I have to be satisfied with just visiting the children. If only those doctors would see the smiles we therapy dogs bring to the patients, I bet they’d change their minds. Oh, yeah—I bring my mother with me on the visits; I may be good at obedience, but I can’t reach the pedals to drive the car!
EVENTS:
Sept 16: Mutt Strut 2006, Chicago Canine Rescue, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Lincoln Park Savings Bank, 3234 N. Damen, $25/$30 at the door. There will be live music, contests and prizes, games, food and drinks; the 2007 Dog Search Contest; and Chicago Canine Rescue dogs available for adoption.
Sept 16: Collars & Scents Adoption Event, Ravenswood Bank, 2300 W. Lawrence. The Anti-Cruelty Society and many other agencies will have dogs for adoption.