Archive for July 15th, 2010
Canine Classifieds – Part 4
Help Wanted – Therapy Dog
A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, with people with learning difficulties and stressful situations such as disaster areas. The dog is kept on leash at all times.
Therapy dogs come in all sizes and breeds. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is its temperament. A good therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, at ease in all situations, and gentle. Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted and handled, sometimes clumsily.
A therapy dog’s primary job is to allow unfamiliar people to make physical contact with it and to enjoy that contact. Children in particular enjoy hugging animals;
an example of this occurred when we took a young dog to a hospital. We went into the room of a young girl about 12 years old, who had laid motionless for days. We placed the dog on the bed. He walked up to the girl and licked her eyes. The young girl wrapped her arms around the dog and gave him a big hug. 
The girl’s mother broke into tears with joy. After a few moments and a few more hugs, the dog returned to us at the foot of the bed where we were standing, knowing he had done his job.
Adults usually enjoy simply petting the dog. The dog might need to be lifted onto, or climb onto, an individual’s lap or bed and sit or lie comfortably there. Many dogs contribute to the visiting experience by performing small tricks for their audiences or by playing carefully structured games.