Counselors With Fur.
Therapy dogs were brought to Newtown, Connecticut almost immediately after the horrific shootings on December 14, 2012 that left 20 children and six staff members dead. One boy confided to the Golden Retriever about what happened in his classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School that day. It was more than he’d been able to share with his parents. A little girl who hadn’t spoken since the shootings finally started talking to her mother again after petting one of the “comfort dogs.” The common mistake people make in a crisis sit-
uation is feeling obligated to give some sort of answer or advice, when really, those who are hurting just need to express themselves. The essential characteristic a therapy dog possesses
54 THE NEW BARKER
is their ability to be quiet. A lot of times, kids talk directly to the dog. Dogs have excellent listening skills and they demonstrate unconditional love. They don’t judge or talk back. The perfect counselor. Earlier this year, we had the privilege of following
two therapy dogs and their handlers — Summer, a three-year-old Doberman Pinscher and Odee, a two- year-old Great Pyrenees — on visits to two Tampa Bay Area children’s hospitals. Interestingly, their birthdays are just two days apart, March 3 and 5. If you believe in astrological signs and applying the attributes to dogs (and why not?), then the characteristics of a Pisces, at least from what we witnessed, were embodied in both Summer and Odee: Compassionate, adaptable, accept- ing, devoted, sensitive and loyal.
–by Anna Cooke –Photography by Jacqui Silla
www.TheNewBarker.com (Continued on page 56) g
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