04/30/2024
He spoke for the first time in days, after this visit.
I remember when my sweet Sophie was a pup, about a year old or so, when we took the Delta Society therapy dog course and became a therapy team. We spent a year at an adult recreation center for people with mental health or nervous system disorders. We spent another year at a school for kids with cognitive and degenerative illnesses that kept them in wheelchairs and challenged by the everyday things we take for granted. It was a humbling experience to see how these people interacted with life; the adults often childlike; the kids struggling to be kids.
What was clear was that their lives were made better from seeing Sophie, getting to pet her and interact with her and her gentle spirit. What they didn't know was how much they did for us.
Today, Delta is called Pet Partners and the holiday they created to recognize the powerful work therapy animals do is being celebrated right now - National Pet Therapy Day.
I did an interview with Pet Partners' Chief Mission Officer, Mary Margaret Callahan on my podcast, The Pet Health Coach, and it's up now:
https://www.petliferadio.com/thepethealthcoachep25.html
And, the man who spoke for the first time? He had recently arrived at a facility, was struggling with dementia and trying to make sense of where he was. His therapy animal visit struck a chord in him, opened him up and was his bridge to engage in the world. How beautiful and amazing is that?
We know this...the power of the love we feel and joy we experience through animals.
Mary Margaret tells wonderful stories like this on the podcast.
Today, we honor those therapy animals and their handlers who give so much and touch so many lives for the better. And I can honor my sweet girl who was the best therapy team partner a girl could have!
Happy National Pet Therapy Day!
