Counselors With Fur continued from previous page.
SUMMER LOVE: SPREADING JOY. When the subject of a therapy dog comes up, the image that comes to mind is that of the faithful, trustworthy, universally-loved and lovable Golden or Labrador Retriever. That would, of course, be profiling and consequently shortchanging the 338 or so breeds, plus mutts and the Bully breed, including Pit Bulls. There is such a thing as breed bias, even among dog lovers. German Shepherd dogs, Doberman
Pinschers, Rottweilers and now Pit Bulls have been misused by humans for terrible things. When Karen Rizzo took her dog, Summer, out to social functions, the beautiful Doberman Pincher would turn heads. People always commented on how well-mannered and sweet she was. A colleague of Karen’s sug- gested she should look into training Summer to be a therapy dog. Believe it or not, Karen encountered several incidences of breed bias, especially when the subject of children came up. “Oh, no way that dog will ever be allowed around children. She’s too big. She’s looks much too scary.” Karen is not a confrontational person, but
she has a strong, quiet, determination about her. Those few comments convinced her that Summer would indeed become a therapy dog, and, ultimately, walk the halls of a pediatric hospital to bring comfort to children and their families. Indeed, Summer passed the Canine Good
Citizen test and the pet therapy evaluation with flying colors for her certification to be a therapy dog. The next step was to be accepted into the Pet Therapy program at All Children’s Hospital, which involved several interviews and background checks on Karen to be accepted as a hospital volunteer. Several months later, we followed Karen
and Summer as they made their way around All Children's, greeting children and their families. “Summer just seems to have this great sense of empathy and she’s especially drawn to chil- dren,” said Karen. “I feel so blessed to be able to share her. She brings comfort, peace and joy.” The two are also a familiar sight at Bay
Pines Medical Center as well as USF’s St. Petersburg campus. “Summer is a great stress reliever for the students,” said Karen. Karen, who now works at One Lucky Dog
Boutique & Grooming in St. Petersburg, has worked with children all of her life. “But, never in a hospital setting. This is all new to me. It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done,” she said.
56 THE NEW BARKER
18-month-old Roam with Melissa, Summer and Karen at All Children’s Hospital.
Raniah amd her mom Branika enjoy playing with Summer.
Andy and his sister Citlaly have fun with Summer and talking to Karen.
Summer was ready for Brandon Gomes’ four-seam fastball.
www.TheNewBarker.com
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