We Are Dog People!
I haven’t quite turned the page to 60 yet, but in the course of my life I’ve had 9 dogs! Chronological listing: Peewee, Charlie Brown, Nikki, Bernice, Blue, Clark, Clara, Princess (my husband’s dog) all of whom have passed away, and currently, alive and well, Thelma and Louise, our most recent pets, a beautiful set of Pugs. I really don’t remember much of my life without a dog as a family pet.
Within the last couple of years our first pair of pugs, Clark and Clara passed away, Clara first and then most recently Clark. We were in the process of purchasing our Right at Home franchise when Clark passed, and we were greatly saddened. It was an incredibly busy time for us, but our hearts were just restless without our furry friends, so we put aside our concerns about how busy our schedule was and welcomed Thelma and Louise into our home.
Doug and I are empty nesters, so of course, Thelma and Louise are treated more like children than dogs…. don’t judge me. We affectionately refer to them as “the girls” and they seem to know we are talking about them.
Other than the opportunity to have someone fawn all over us when we return home, we really did have a mission in mind when we adopted Thelma and Louise. We want to train them to be Therapy Dogs so they can go and visit in senior communities. Many of our clients with Right at Home are senior adults and/or live in a senior adult community. Many no longer have a pet to enjoy daily. We’ve started introducing Thelma and Louise to the world of senior adults when we visit with Doug’s mom. She has dementia and now lives in a memory community. When we take Thelma and Louise her heart leaps when she gets a chance to pet them and interact. It seems that many memories are gone but the enjoyment of a pet is still there for her.
There is a lot of information available about the benefits of pets. An article on WebMd talks about several benefits of which one is possibly lowering your blood pressure. Aging in Place has a great article on the benefits of pets with senior adults. WomansDay.com even provides a list of dogs that are great pets for senior adults. And wouldn’t you know it, pugs are at the top of the list! So, I feel we chose well when we decided on Thelma and Louise.
It can be a bit confusing when you hear about Therapy Dogs because there is also a lot of talk about Service Dogs and Emotional Support Dogs, and Companion Dogs. I wanted to take just a moment and help define some of these so you might better understand each group.
Therapy Dogs: This is the path we have chosen for Thelma and Louise. For Therapy Dogs, it is all about temperament. These dogs perform their service by allowing different people to enjoy them. They are brought into a community or environment by their handler and allow individuals to snuggle with them, pet them, basically provide comfort. They go through several levels of training before they can be tested and certified. There are several organizations that certify.
Service and Assistance Dogs: These dogs spend a great deal of time training for a specific task that they can help their owners with. They can pull wheelchairs, push buttons, and many other tasks. They can also be trained to identify when their owner may be having an instance of a medical condition, like seizure or low blood sugar, to mention a couple. Service Dogs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act; they are not required to wear a special vest or sign although they often do; can go anywhere their owners go, even if dogs are normally allowed. You should never approach a Service Dog to pet them while they are working because they need to stay alert for their owner’s protection.
Emotional Support Dogs/Animals: These dogs can assist with conditions like anxiety, depression, panic attacks, fears, and various kinds of psychological and emotional conditions. The mere presence of the dog can help reduce the owner’s symptoms. There is no specific training for Emotional Support Dogs. They are not covered by the American’s with Disabilities Act and do not have the same access to public places as Service Dogs. Sometimes, with a physician’s note, exceptions can be made in some environments that restrict dogs. Emotional Support Dogs can fly in the cabin of an airplane with their owner but I’m sure it would always be best to plan for something like that.
For Thelma and Louise, they are working hard at good old-fashioned obedience training. Currently they are trying to curb their natural puppy tendencies, 8 months old, and learn to come, sit, stay, wait, walk loose lease, and leave something alone. Their biggest challenge right now is to control playful behaviors that are part of being a puppy, like licking. During their Christmas photo shot Santa exclaimed, “they are good girls but Thelma can’t control her licker!”
We are also socializing “the girls”. We take them to visit my mother-in-law at a memory community, they go to work with me most days, we take them to community events. We want them to be used to the excitement of meeting new people, not be afraid of sounds and unfamiliar surroundings, and be used to being handled. We know there will be a joyous payoff for all the work. We’ve seen my mother-in-law completely immersed in the two of them and seems to be lifted out from under the weight of dementia while she is holding them. For me, that is what we are a looking for!
You can follow Thelma and Louise’s training and progress on our website, www.rahnorthga.com. You can also see their training, and a few antics on their Instagram @thelmaandlouise_rahnorthga.
Would love to hear about any of your stories with Therapy Dogs, or just your furry friends.
Lori and Doug Bochat are the proud doggie parents of Thelma and Louise, they are also partnering together operating Right at Home in Woodstock, Georgia.
