Fit as Fido

Therapy Dogs Weave Their Magic

01.25.2012 // Fit As Fido // Dawn A. Marcus, M.D. // No Comments

In The Power of Wagging Tails, therapy dog coordinator Ann Cadman shares how therapy dogs have a sixth sense to sniff out where and how they are most needed:

- “Ann often tells new therapy dog handlers, ‘Therapy dogs are special—they have a sixth sense for recognizing where they’re needed. They seem to have the wisdom of old souls when it comes to sensing people’s needs and pain.’” (Chapter 3)

Therapy dog handler Sherrie shares the story about how her Bernese Mountain Dog Brady made an excellent therapy dog, displaying a true sixth sense for how to share his healing touch:

“We used to visit one of the local nursing homes and were always accompanied by the activities person on duty. We would go from room to room to visit. Brady was very good with the clients and gave each their due attention before moving on. Most of the choices he made himself. He had a sense that told him how much time to spend with people. One day. he headed for a room and the activities person said: ‘Oh, don’t let him go in there! They don’t like the dogs.’ Brady went in anyway and was greeted happily by both people in the room. Once we finished visiting with them, we moved on and Brady tried to walk past another room. The activities person said that we had to stop in there because they loved to have the dogs visit. I made Brady go in and we were greeted with people telling us they didn’t want to see the dogs and get out of here! Needless to say the activities person was impressed and surprised by Brady’s intuitiveness.

“We visited at another facility as well and during one of those visits Brady went up to a person in wheelchair who was unresponsive. The activities person there was delighted and surprised when the patient looked at Brady and vocalized, something she never did.”

In many ways, therapy dogs become the teachers for their handlers, showing them the best ways to comfort, nurture, and soothe people in need. There’s nothing quite like standing at the end of a leash, watching your therapy dog methodically weave his magic. That’s the power of wagging tails.