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Below, you'll find information and products to help you and your dog.
Dogs, Seniors And Young People.
By Ruth Bird, Fri Dec 9th
Senior Visiting with Dogs and Young People. I have had the privilege to visit with the seniors now for manyyears with my Dogs. I have two therapy dogs, Nikki and Benny. Itake them both visiting in separate senior homes. I belong toTherapeutic Paws of Canada. What a wonderful organization it is. How did I get started into this wonderful work? I was visiting adear young friend in the palliative care unit in our localhospital. My friend was dying. On this day, she was totallyexhausted and sleeping. I was watching her, in turmoil with whatwas happening when very softly in walked Linda and Tasha, theresident visiting golden retriever. My friend could not benefitfrom this visit, but boy, I sure did. This helped me get agrip on my emotions. Such a beautiful she is. Tasha andLinda the owner became my mentors. I knew this is what I wantedto do. Tasha’s owner, Linda, wrote a “Tribute to Tasha”. I haveit published on my site, with her permission.
http://www.mimfreedom.com/images/Animalsspecial/LindaTasha.htm One of our church members has moved to the same home I takeNikki visiting. Because of this, I have had an unexpectedpleasure; one of our young people, Cassandra, has volunteered tocome with me. She observes Nikki visiting, and she talks withthe seniors, holds their hands. She makes them smile, big-time! When we go into the home, I first let Nikki visit with theresidents, and Cassandra also visits with them, the seniors loveit. We then end the visiting by seeing our friend, Daniel. Whata great way to spend an hour or two. It is not difficult to train a for visiting. All of the‘Therapy Groups” that I am aware of do not required to have any“outside” training. It is very easy to train your own dog, andif you need help, there is information available. I also haveinformation on my therapy site,http://www.mimfreedom.com/dogtherapy.htm Different organizations have different requirements. But, withmost of them your needs to be one year of age and pass athree part screening process. Health, skills and aptitude Thehealth screening is done by your Veterinarian and certifies thatyour is healthy and free from parasites, disease andinfections and all shots are current. The skills test, modeledafter the American Kennel Club's Canine
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Good Citizen testevaluates whether the animal can be controlled by the handlerand follow basic commands. The aptitude test is designed tosimulate conditions you may encounter on a visit. How would yourpet react around a wheelchair, walker, cane, noises, andslippery floors such as in a hospital, elevators, crowds ofpeople, and being hugged and petted by more than one person at atime? Cassandra, my young friend, has written in her own words for uswhat she feels about this wonderful work. By Cassandra: I have started to go visiting some of the senior homes in myneighborhood with my friend Ruth and her two dogs, Nikki aGolden Retriever and Benny a Black Lab. Her dogs were trainedfor Therapeutic Paws of Canada and are certified by them. Theyare very gentle and loving dogs. My name is Cassandra and I just turned 14. I am going to bestarting high school in the fall and looking forward to it.Visiting the seniors with the dogs is a great way to givesomething back to the community and it is something that givesme great pleasure in doing. I have a 7-year-old sister who alsoenjoys visiting the seniors as well. I have always liked animalsand have three at home, one and two cats. My first visit to the senior home was very enjoyable. The firstfew visits will probably just be getting to know the people wholive there. Who likes dogs and who doesn’t? We met severalseniors who really liked Nikki. As we keep going to this homeI’m told that they will remember the dogs more then theyremember the people who bring the dogs. While we were there I met Daniel, a senior member of our churchand a very enjoyable man. He had just moved into the home andwas very lonely. I think he really liked the visit because onour next one I was surprised when he remembered me. That gave mesuch a good feeling to know that our visit was well received. So I would highly recommend that if you like talking to peopleand want to be doing something in your spare time to visit theseniors in your neighborhood it will give them something to lookforward to and you a great feeling. About the author:My name is Ruth Bird, and I am the owner of 3 dogs, 2 areRegistered Therapy Visiting Dogs, my third is blind. Mypassions are health for people and pets and promoting a happy,healthy and wealthy lifestyle. Omega 3 has become one of myfavorite topics. http://www.mimfreedom.comhttp://www.mimfreedom.com/dogtherapy.htm
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