What makes a good Therapy Dog:
The 3 most important factors are temperament, temperament, and temperament - because nothing else will take its place. A dog who is friendly and who really likes people in general is always a good candidate. Note that very little will be said about training, as such. Yes, training matters, but unless the dog is friendly to start with, the training may well be wasted for this particular purpose. The dog who can take accidental mishaps in stride, who can deal alike with the endlessly repetitive interactions of Alzheimers patients and give every indication of enjoying its work is indeed a Therapy Dog.
  
The dogs bring sparkle to a sterile day, provide a lively subject for conversation, and rekindle old memories of previously owned pets. Often deprived of acceptance & love, those who live or must stay in a care facility immediately respond to tail-wagging greetings and warm paws. Therapy Dogs give something medical science can't do, without the use of drugs. It has been clinically proven that through petting, touching and talking with animals, patients blood pressure is lowered, stress is relieved, depression is eased, and under some circumstances pain is tolerated easier.
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Marcy enjoys spending time working as a Therapy Dog in the Saranac Lake school district, helping 2nd graders in the Reading For Rover program. This nationally-acclaimed program builds young students' reading skills and confidence, while the presence of the Therapy Dogs relieves their anxiety and stress about reading aloud. Marcy walks into the classrooms as if they are her other "homes", and greets every child with a smile on her face and a wagging tail. She then curls up next to the students individually or in pairs, with her head in their laps while they read aloud to her, regardless of all the hustle-bustle going on around her. It's very gratifying to see all the goodwill and happiness she brings to the classroom. She is a credit to her breeding which has resulted in such an intuitive and steadfast golden retriever. We consider Marcy's involvement with the Reading for Rover Program to be as equally important, if not more, than all the obedience and field titles she has earned over the years.
A video clip of Joan's therapy dogs: Click here
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Daphne:
A day in the life: We had to be there for 1:30, we're doing Peds at University Hospital today and didn't want to be late. We arrived at the hospital a little early since Daphne had not worked much over the holidays. We went to the Volunteer services office to hang up my jacket and clean up Daphne's paws from walking over from the top level of the parking garage. Sign in and a little quick drink and off to the lobby to get her use to her surroundings for the visit. We usually hang out there for a few minutes to get acclimated to the hospital environment. I sit in a chair and Daphne lays by my feet with her bandana and Therapy Dog vest on. It doesn't take long before a woman passing by stops and asks to pet her. Daphne graciously stands and walks towards the woman for some petting. Minutes go by and we now have 5 people around Daphne all wanting to know about her. The questions come fast. The same questions we hear quite often. Is she a purebred ? Is she a Golden ? Is she a puppy ? I've never seen a golden that dark reddish before. She's smaller than the goldens that I normally see, why? I take a few moments to field the questions to everyone's satisfaction. The consensus in the lobby is that this Adirondac little girl is an outstanding looking dog like none they had ever seen before.
I check my watch, wow 1:23 PM time to catch the elevator up to the 7th floor where we will be starting our visits. At the elevator we wait, finally one going up. The door opens and there are two men inside, I ask if they mind if the dogs rides, and they respond, no problem. I push the 7th floor button and move to the back of the car. On floor 2 we stop and a whole bunch of people enter the elevator. Daphne just sits there checking out all these new folks. One of the women who got on board at the 2nd floor now notices there is this Golden sitting in the back of the elevator and informs all with a "Hey there's a dog back there". We now field questions again about that distinctive Adirondac Golden look.
After making stops at every floor we finally reach our destination. The door opens and there is the Life Specialist who will be accompanying us on our visiting rounds. After greeting us (Daphne more than me) we head off to visit our first patient. We go through the double doors and stop outside one of the rooms. This will be Daphne's first visit today. We walk in and find a young child in bed who is undergoing Chemo, had no hair, and also an amputation to a leg. Daphne wiggles her way towards the child with excitement as I decide how to position Daphne since we do not always allow them in the beds with all the patients. Daphne has it figured out already, and decides on the half on approach keeping her hind feet on the floor but stretching her front as close to the girl as possible all the while looking for a sign of encouragement. A smile spreads across the girls face as she strokes the top of Daphne's head. Her fur is so soft she says. We spend the next 15 minutes talking about this Adirondac looking little Daphne dog and how she wormed her way into a young girls heart in a very short time. As the visit winds down I give her one of Daphne's business cards which are photos as a way of remembering the special time they spend together. Outside the room the Life specialist apologizes for not warning me ahead of time about the child's condition. Don't worry about it Daphne didn't.
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