therapy dogs--stories please
Could we have some stories of corgi therapy dogs?
I have one guy who fell in love with the 90 year old mom of a neighbor and now we visit her in a nursing home once a week. He seesm to really love these visits. He also chooses which patients he wants to visit. some he will ignore, others get a visit in which he puts his front feet on the chair or bed so that they can pet his head and make eye contact. It's really interesting behavior and i haven't been able to discern the difference in those he wants to connect with and those he ignores.
We did dress up for Halloween and visit, too, and, of course he was a hit. My dog's name is Thomas Jefferson (Tommy) and I'm also amazed at how many of the elderly will remember HIS name and not mine! He's a light fawn, very pretty gold color with a lovely coat that everyone likes to pet, too. My joke that he's my "yellow dog democrat" also brings lots of comments but then I'm in conservative central Texas!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Sage loves being a Therapy Dog...she and I try to go on at least 2 times a month if not more. Sage really likes visiting the elderly in nursing homes and assisted living homes as well as Memory Care units. They have started bringing her their own treats and if they don't we supply the people with some. She always seems to be a hit and rolls over for belly rubs. I have to hold her up for people in wheel chairs to pet. We also do demos at some places with our Puppy Love Therapy Dog group but I think we both like the individual visits more as we can do what we want. Sage recently got her picture in a local paper for this.
Sage and I are starting to venture out more and will be starting more visits in high medical homes and maybe someday would like to become part of our local hospice program and some childrens programs. We will have our 1st visit at Barnes and Noble in Dec. and I look forward to this one.
The only downside to this is that everytime I get ready to go Sage thinks she is coming along also.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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We don't go as often as I like, but the one place we go has an elderly woman with severe memory loss. She seems to have no short-term memory; she'll ask the dog's name and then tell a short story and then as the dog's name again.
Here's the funny thing: every time we go, every time we circle the room and come back, every time we leave and re-enter, is like the first time we are meeting her. However, EVERY time Jack is her favorite dog in the room; he reminds her of a Collie she had when she was a girl and we hear that collie story at least 4 times on every visit.
We brought Maddie once instead, and this time Maddie was her favorite dog in the room for the reason above.
So I think it's interesting that she does not remember us from one minute to the next but we are her favorites every time we pass by! She might not remember who we are, but she knows which dog she likes.
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Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on
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It always seems like a chore as I get ready to go but once I'm there I just love it and always feel good afterwards. My husband says this is one way to pave the way for someone to do the same for me(us) someday! It's a really nice thng to share a corgi...I didn't mention that the Halloween costume was, of course, the Queen...:) At least i had the correct accessories!
We don't have any special certificate for therapy and I'm not sure of the process to be "official".
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Andersen on
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Nimh and I go to the local VA hospital up to the nursing home section every other week. They love him there and many of the guys (it's mostly guys) call him by name. One fellow who's been there since we've been going (near two years now) can't talk and can barely move but he manages to say Nimh's name and when I put his hand on Nimh's head he'll caress Nimh's soft fur. He will mouth the word 'Thank You", too... I try not to cry. Another fellow is Nimh's very best friend. He adores Nimh and Nimh snuggles into bed with him, rolls on his back, and rests his head on the fellow's chest or crook of his arm...Nimh'll stay that way as long as I let him. And Vee, you're right, no one knows my name...I'm the dope on a rope, but I'm happy about that. Nimh is the star.
Oh, and Nimh was a honeybee this year and Count Barkula last year. He gets invited to all the parties!
We even got filmed for the local NBC news station! Nimh and his bff, Misha who is also a therapy dog, had a nice long segment on the nightly news.
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Permalink Reply by Lois B. Allen on
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I really admire all of you that do this. GOOD JOB and thanks for the people you help.
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I really should branch out and go to the VA here. Is there any special paper work to take a dog to a VA facility?
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