There are those who are concerned that working dogs don’t have enough playtime, enough opportunity to socialise with their own kind:
Some animal advocates are concerned that Mosby and his working colleagues get too few opportunities to socialize with other dogs. NEADS [Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans] asks owners to plan play dates and make regular visits to offleash dog parks, “so the dog has a chance to be a dog,’’ she said.
Mosby, a golden retriever, goes to church on Sunday and visits with the sick and infirm. He’s a ministry dog — a type of assistance dog assigned to clergy and church workers to offer comfort. It’s a job that’s open to a wider variety of breeds than some assistance roles :
There is also a growing demand for therapy dogs of all types. NEADS began providing dogs for military veterans with physical injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder in 2006, and more dogs are requested by injured vets every year. [O’Brien, the agency’s chief executive officer] also predicts there will soon be a boom in demand for dogs trained to assist autistic children, and to detect blood-sugar imbalances in diabetics.
The pool of trained therapy dogs is limited, with NEADS graduating just 50 or so annually from all its programs.
But one advantage for the ministry dog program is its acceptance of a wider variety of breeds, even tiny shih tzus, while traditional assistance dogs tend to be retrievers or German shepherds, large enough to guide a client through traffic and crowds, said O’Brien.
Dogs can bring so much joy and warmth into lives that may be restricted. When Mosby visits a facility caring for those with Alzheimer’s:
… residents halted a bingo game to reach out to touch the dog. Several elders who had been sitting in silence started talking animatedly.
“Isn’t he beautiful?’’ murmured one woman in a wheelchair.
Have you had experience with therapy or ministry dogs? Tell us about it in the Comments.
I am browsing this morning and chanced upon this site. My 118 pound Schnoodle and I are registered Delta Society Pet Partners. In addition to our regular visits to health care centers, we do programs for the children at our church. I use Reggie to illustrate the key idea by an activity or story. The dog captures attention and provides a memory “peg” to aid in recall of the lesson the story teaches. Once a month at Greenfield Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Reggie and I do a 30 minute Youth Worship. And about once a month we present a 5-8 minute Children’s Sermon in the morning worship service. We also visit home-bound members, on request. Go to our web site to read the programs we have developed and offer there as a free resource for others.