Lois, a retired dental hygienist, has had dogs most of her life. From miniature poodles to Dobermans, Lois knows dogs. She’s even had some experience with horses, but Lita is her first standard poodle.
When I retired, I wanted a dog to do some kind of service with, and a standard poodle seemed like a good fit. But, I wanted a pup from a working dog background, no frou-frou types for me. Eventually, Lois located a breeder whose dogs excelled in agility and obedience. When the puppies were ready, the breeder informed Lois that she would pick a puppy for her that would be a good fit. I’d never heard of that before but it worked out quite well.In addition, the breeder told Lois she expected her to introduce the puppy to at least one hundred strangers in the first six weeks. I was a bit stunned and wondered, living out in the country as we do, how on earth I would accomplish that. To meet their goal, Lois and Lita started going to home improvement stores, hardware stores, and hanging out outside grocery stores with Lois introducing the pup to anyone she could button hole. She also introduced Lita to the residents at the care center where her husband was an Alzheimer patient. Before the six weeks were up, the little poodle pup had met her people goal.
Then, as Lois had always done with her dogs, she enrolled Lita in a basic obedience course. The trainer, as it turned out, was also an evaluator for Love on A Leash, a national therapy pet organization. Lita did well with her obedience training and the teacher suggested Lois look into pet assisted therapy. That meant Lita needed to earn her CGC (canine good citizen), which she was able to do quite easily. Lois then applied for acceptance into Love on a Leash, and soon she and Lita began the required supervised visits.
They tried a number of children’s programs including a Paws to Read program at a local library and a program for children with behavior problems or autism. In this class, the children, most with ADD, were fidgety, their hands constantly moving. But, when the youngsters sat and stroked Lita, they became markedly calmer. Similarly, when they visited nursing homes, Lois found the residents’ eyes lit up when they saw Lita. Lois knew she had found the calling for her retirement years.
New to pet therapy, Lois soon realized that she would sometimes have to take the lead in setting rules with administrators when visiting, especially in nursing homes where residents were non mobile and often suffering from dementia. For instance, at one home on their first visit, the activity director decided to make a game of the visit by putting dog cookies in the laps of the residents. The activity backfired when some of the residents happily popped the cookies into their own mouths.
Lita shares Lois with Asher, a six month old standard poodle Lois is fostering and training to be a hearing dog. Requirements and tests for service dogs are stricter and more involved than for therapy dogs. Once Asher meets all the requirements, he will be placed with a deaf person. However, if Asher is unable to pass the tests, he will most likely be adopted or perhaps stay with Lois and Lita. He’s a smart boy, mused Lois, but, if he fails the tests, I wouldn’t mind having him stay with us.
Lois advises anyone thinking of getting into pet assisted therapy, to get a good trainer. In my case, our trainer saw the potential in Lita, perhaps even more than I did.He recognized that even as a puppy she is an “old soul” whose soft brown eyes look deep inside you to your very soul. She has my heart.
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Have a question for Lita or Lois: Lita’s Mom
Read an excerpt from Frosty’s Story. Tails of a Therapy Dog: Frosty’s Story.
For Children: Nurse Frosty.
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