Why dog ​​therapy is needed for children

Lori Sieber sat on the carpet, where her black-and-white dog sat comfortably next to her. A little girl named Emma put her face close to his wet nose and let out a soft exclamation.

Charlie wagged his tail, licking the baby’s nose. Emma laughed. Therapy dogs and children get along great.

Charlie, half Newfoundland and half regular poodle (or “newfood” as Laurie calls him) has been a therapy dog ​​for six years. According to Therapy Dogs International, dogs help children relieve stress, moral trauma, anxiety and anxiety, promote relaxation and reduce aggression, and also stimulate movement, socialization and verbalization. This volunteer organization regulates, tests and registers therapy dogs for children and adults along with the owners of their volunteers.

Charlie and Lori

Every week, blue-eyed Charlie visits kids like Emma with Laurie at the Barber National Institute’s Elizabeth Lee Black School in Erie, Pennsylvania. The school serves more than 220 children ages 3 to 21 with autism, intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, and mental health issues from 22 school districts in northwestern Pennsylvania and Chatokqua County, New York. The Barber National Institute also organizes preschools for children like Emma who do not have developmental disabilities but are considered “at risk” due to various socioeconomic factors.

After visiting Emma and her class, Charlie and Laurie go to a classroom where teachers work with children with severe and intellectual disabilities.

One of the children lets out a cheer when Charlie enters the room, but the dog doesn’t flinch at the sudden sound. Laurie leads Charlie to another child nearby, a blind boy with little to no control over his hand movements. Laurie gently places his hand on Charlie’s head and the baby smiles broadly, feeling the dog’s fur. However, getting flustered, the boy grabs Charlie by the fur and pulls hard. And although such actions are quite painful and frightening for other dogs, Charlie patiently sits still and looks at Laurie, who carefully removes the boy’s hand and holds it while he feels the soft fur of the “newfedel” in a more controlled movement.

“I was sure he would make a good therapy dog ​​because he loves small children,” Laurie says. “Every time we walked around the area with him, when he saw the children, he always wanted to come up and play with them. He is always very patient with the little ones, no matter what happens.”

Kind nature of therapy dogs

Lori Sieber and her dog Charlie work with a child at the Barber National Institute in Erie, Pennsylvania. Charlie was trained as a treatment and therapy service dog by Erie-based Therapy Dogs United, a non-profit organization that certifies dogs and their owners to help people with emotional and physical problems by giving them love, comfort and lessons that instill valuable life experiences. skills.

In fact, service dogs are different from therapy dogs. Service dogs are trained to help a specific person with certain disabilities. Therapy dogs, Psychiatric Service Dog Partners explains, are trained to interact with and help a wide variety of people, from those who suffer from a wide range of emotional or physical disorders to those who simply need comfort and care.

In addition to the Elizabeth Lee Black School, Therapy Dogs United certified dogs work in Erie area libraries, where they help children who are slow to learn to read by listening without judgment or impatience. Children’s Therapy Dogs also volunteer at the Erie County Courthouse to support children involved in custody hearings. “These amazing animals provide a calming presence that helps ease the trauma and stress associated with appearing in court,” Erie County Judge John E. Trusilla said in an interview about the program with the Erie Times-News.

“Let’s go for a walk, Wyatt!”

Janice Wolfe’s organization in New Jersey called Merlin’s KIDS Janice Wolfe’s organization in New Jersey called Merlin’s KIDS (not affiliated with Therapy Dogs International) trains service dogs for several types of therapy work. Janice, who has her own therapy dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Wyatt, knows firsthand how therapy dogs help children with special needs. She recalls a time when a teenager with developmental problems suddenly got up from his chair, walked up to her and said, “Let’s go for a walk, Wyatt!”

“He started walking around the room with Wyatt, and the room became so quiet that you could hear the flies flying around,” Janice says. – It turns out that the employees of the institution had never heard the boy speak before. He never opened his mouth. But his interest in and connection to Wyatt was so strong that it motivated him. It shows how important these interactions are, because animals can do amazing things.”

Mutual benefit

At Elizabeth Lee Black School, Laurie lets each child pet Charlie and talk to him, and then they perform some tricks. He shakes hands with the children, “prays” and spins around him – his short tail wags while he waits for the treat that Laurie gives him after following her commands.

The instructors not only give children the opportunity to interact with Charlie, but also use the time children spend with therapy dogs to teach them basic life skills, including waiting their turn, following directions, being patient, making eye contact, and being kind to animals. .

“Many of the classes that Charlie attends even have a bowl of water specially designed for him,” said Maria Hopkins, an educator of children with disabilities at the Barber National Institute.

“Charlie helps kids focus. It assists in the acquisition of behavioral skills, she says. – He makes everyone happy. The kids just glow with joy when he comes.”

Charlie, who has been coming to the National Barber Institute for over five years, loves to spend time there. Laurie knows this because when school breaks, Charlie stands by the drawer where she keeps his Therapy Dog vest and stares at the owner.

“He seems to be saying to me: aren’t we going to visit the children today? Laurie explains. “He knows he wants to go there.”

Seventeen-year-old James Sterner is a student at the Elizabeth Lee Black School. He helps Lori and Charlie move from class to class, visiting each group of students. A special bond developed between James and Charlie when James helped the dog overcome his fear of tiled floors. According to Laurie, it was James who came up with the idea to cover the floor with a blanket so that Charlie could comfortably walk on the uncarpeted floor.

As Maria, an educator for children with disabilities, said, she will never forget watching James work on solving Charlie’s problem.

“Our job is to help children with developmental problems, and in doing so, one of our children was able to find a way to help Charlie with his problem,” she says. “It’s really impressive.”

As for James, the reason for his love for Charlie is simple: “Charlie is sensitive, kind and very smart.”

“He’s still very cute,” the boy adds, patting the dog on the head.

Charlie, finally raising his eyes to James, wags his tail and goes to work in the next class.