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When you think of volunteer work, perhaps preparing meals at a soup kitchen and teaching someone to read come to mind. But suppose you want to volunteer and spend time with your dog? While it can probably lick stamps with the best of them, your dog can do what it does best - calm a troubled heart, provide an unconditional wag of the tail - and you can go along.
Annabelle, a 4-year-old Beagle on a mission, provides plenty of inspiration for those who might want to volunteer with their dogs. When Annie, as owners Mark and Michelle Cohen call her, shows up at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., she is all business, neatly trimmed nails quietly clicking on the floor, tail wagging at a calm but
steady tempo. Because she must show up for work freshly bathed, her fur is clean and soft. Her demeanor lies
somewhere between businesslike and perky.
Holly Parker, the recreational therapist who directs the program for which
Annie and the Cohens volunteer, decides which dogs visit which patients and
hands out assignments as volunteers gather for the evening. This evening
Parker assigns Annie to the recreational therapy lounge, where hesitant patients
gather quietly.
The Cohens work the crowd. As Annie settles for some petting beside a
chemotherapy patient in a wheelchair, Mark Cohen shows off some of her puppy
pictures to a more reticent patient. Meanwhile, a chocolate Labrador
Retriever takes a young boy in leg braces for a walk, while another Lab works
her magic on an organ transplant recipient. Soon the lounge buzzes. Later,
Michelle Cohen and Annie take the floor with an impressive array of tricks. The
dancing dog, spinning happy circles, turns the roomful of patients into a laughing, clapping audience.
"Fifteen years ago, all we had were anecdotes to tell us how our dogs made someone speak who hadn't spoken in
months, for instance," says Mary Burch, Ph.D., who wrote the book Volunteering With Your Pet, which will be
published this month by John Wiley & Sons. Now, data show that, in the presence of an animal, people report less
pain and are more sociable. Animals also motivate patients to learn new
skills, she says.
And while scientific research lies behind the complex association between the presence of animals and improvement in the health and well-being of people around them, what a dog and its owner need to do to share joy is fairly straightforward.
Before heading to the nearest nursing home with your dog in tow, determine whether volunteer work in general suits your dog. Then add some basic training, and, finally, find a volunteer opportunity that works for you and your dog.
Not all dogs can do volunteer work. Ursula Kemp, who runs Therapy Dogs International, a therapy-dog registry in Flanders, N.J., says a good canine candidate for volunteer work absolutely must love people. "The dog should be one of those that goes around saying, 'pet me, pet me, pet me."'
They must also be well socialized to other dogs because most volunteer opportunities involve multiple teams of dogs and owners.
Marlene Truesdell, an evaluator for Renton, Wash.-based Delta Society's Pet Partners Program, says a strong bond between dog and handler also makes for a good volunteer team. Volunteering with her two dogs, she has seen firsthand the level of trust required between dog and owner.
"Especially when dogs are new to volunteering, there are so many new experiences," she says. "Basically, the dog has to be reliable, controllable, and dependable."
Once you've determined that your dog has the raw skills and personality, give it some basic obedience training - if you haven't already.
Then comes the test. Burch now directs the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen Test Program. This nationwide program allows owners to test their dogs for such "good citizenship" traits as accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, and reacting positively to another dog.
Passing the CGC test is a good starting point for those interested in volunteer work. In fact, Therapy Dogs International's certification process begins with this test, adding a few requirements specific to therapy dogs, such as the "Leave it" command, which instructs a dog to ignore food or some other interesting item.
Finally, decide what type of volunteer work suits your dog and matches your comfort level and interests. Thanks to research indicating the many positive results of animal-assisted
therapy, the field has grown enormously, as has the need for volunteers in an ever-expanding range of settings. Hospitals,
prisons, hospices, schools, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers - even dental offices and Internal Revenue Service centers - now invite therapy dogs and their owners to visit.
Sandi Martin and her 13-month-old Portuguese Water Dog, Zelda, volunteer through Intermountain Therapy Animals. This Salt Lake City group visits seniors in long-term-care
centers, adolescents in juvenile detention, children with disabilities, adults with depression and patients in acute-care hospitals. It also participates in a
reading mentorship program at the city's public libraries.
Martin's years as a nurse watching therapy dogs in action inspired her to get a dog she believed would enjoy volunteer work. For several years, she
saw her first therapy dog, Olivia, also a Portuguese Water Dog, "make a difference she says, in the lives of many in need. "I would see people smile in situations they didn't have a lot to smile about," she says.
Such rewards drive the efforts of volunteer dog owners around the
country. "We get more than we put in," Mark Cohen says. "And we love every minute of it."
Patricia Barraza Vos is a free-lance writer and lives in Delaplane, Va.
Join In
Once you and your dog are ready, willing, and able to volunteer, these
organizations can help you get started:
[Some groups have been omitted.]
The Delta Society began as an organization that funded research on pets' impact on human health and well-being, then began training and
certification programs for volunteers and their pets. Delta's Pet Partners Program now matches people in need
with pet partners. The organization offers home-study and workshop training
throughout the United States.
Information: Delta Society, 289 Perimeter Road E., Renton, WA 98055 (425) 226-7357;
info@deltasociety.org; www.deltasociety.org
- Patricia Barraza Vos
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