A furry body, wagging tail and wet nose are a welcome sight after a long, hard day at work. But the canine companions provide much more to the human world than a friendly greeting.The physical and emotional benefits tied to therapy dogs are often vital to a person’s health and well being.Diana McQuarrie, Denver Pet Partners executive director, said studies have shown that people benefit in many ways from working and playing with animals. Rehabilitation with a therapy dog facilitates recovery from mental health problems like depression. Many people experience a decline in heart rate and blood pressure. Rehabilitation with a therapy dog complements physical, occupational and speech therapies.”Therapy dogs give patients a sense of normalcy, acceptance and unconditional love,” McQuarrie said.Denver Pet Partners, an affiliate of the Delta Society, focuses on three components for a successful team: the animal handler, client (patient, senior citizen or child) and the animal itself. She said most of the animals registered with Denver Pet Partners are dogs, but horses and cats are also utilized. The dogs are not breed-specific, but the animals’ skills and aptitude are evaluated.Denver Pet Partners works with “Chihuahuas to Great Danes and everything in between,” McQuarrie said.Their dogs have varied backgrounds. Rescue dogs make good partners because they can relate to abused children and provide a valuable tool with therapy, McQuarrie said.Career-change service dogs, which may have been guide dogs for the blind but were not right for that career, transitioned into therapy dogs. Some therapy dogs are people’s pets. Most dogs at Denver Pet Partners are registered with the American Kennel Club Good Citizen program, McQuarrie said.”We train people how to do this with their pets,” she said. Denver Pet Partners has 16-week workshops taught by licensed Delta instructors. Following the class is an evaluation to test the animal and handler on basic obedience. The registration must be renewed every two years.”We are an advocate for the dog,” McQuarrie said. “We are very diligent about keeping them safe, and we set them up for success.”Denver Pet Partners has 120 teams in Denver and visits 30 facilities in the metro area, including acute care and long-term care facilities, schools, hospice centers and community organizations. McQuarrie said a facility must be a Delta-registered facility for animal visits to be allowed.The Delta Society has 9,000 teams in the United States and other countries.Canine Companions for Independence is another organization dedicated to helping people regain independence through dog therapy. “Dogs become motivation for a person to reengage in society,” said Paul O’Brien, CCI Colorado director.CCI, founded in 1975, operates five training centers – one in Colorado Springs – where people learn how to handle and care for the dog.Two years of training and $35,000-$40,000 are invested in each dog that goes through the CCI program. Black and yellow labs and golden retrievers are bred specifically for the program. O’Brien said the graduation rate is 30 percent and determined by the dog’s temperament, physical character and work ethic. Some dogs are released because of health issues.In the United States 1,500 CCI dogs are in service. In Colorado, CCI service dogs assist 32 people. Sixty-five puppies are in training in Colorado.CCI service dogs are divided into four categories: dogs that help mobility impaired adults by turning off lights, opening doors and picking up dropped items; dogs as companions for children – part of a team that includes a parent and guardian; hearing dogs that alert their deaf person to sounds; and facility dogs that assist with physical therapy programs.Therapy Dogs Inc., founded in 1990, has 10,337 dogs in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, said Billie Smith, administrative assistant. There is a difference between a therapy dog and a service dog, she said. “A therapy dog is trained to be friendly with everyone, and is very hands on, while service dogs are trained for their one person.”The dogs registered with Therapy Dogs visit hospitals, schools, special-needs centers, nursing homes, libraries and prisons and juvenile detention centers.Dogs with Therapy Dogs must be observed three times and pass a basic obedience test. They are then insured for $3 million worth of liability coverage.”We have a very strict set of guidelines that we require our members to follow,” Smith said.Jeff Rebitski, known by his students as Mr. Ski, is a special education teacher at Ellicott Middle School.Eve is an 8-year-old black lab rescued from Dream Power, an animal rescue group. Eve travels throughout the school district and has become “kind of a staff member and fixture of the Ellicott School District,” Rebitski said.Eve roams the halls with students and monitors students in the classrooms. She plays like a puppy, he said, and has a “calming effect in a chaotic environment.”She is obsessive/compulsive with balls. She never stops.”Eve has affected thousands of children, Rebitski said, as well as those in hospitals, respite homes and nursing homes that they visit.”These kids just want to be connected to someone or something, and Eve does not discriminate,” said Rebitski, who also has used other types of animals in his classroom.Animals are a good way to engage students, he said. “Animals are a teaching tool with a pulse.”Pikes Peak Hospice is another place where animals visit. Cheryl Amster, complementary therapies coordinator, said over the 12 years the agency has had the animal visitation program it’s mainly about dogs with some aviaries and an occasional cat.”When a family is sitting and waiting with a loved one, suddenly a dog comes in, and it really changes the whole mood of the room,” Amster said. “It takes their mind off being sick for the family and the patient.”Pikes Peak Library District’s Jean Bishop, children’s services specialist, said the district has offered the Paws to Read program for more than four years. About 20 dogs travel throughout the district, she said.The dogs enhance the young readers’ fluency and boost confidence and comprehension. “With the Paws to Read program, the dog is a non-judgmental creature,” Bishop said. “The handler and dog work as a team to facilitate a child’s ability to read.”Whether they’re turning off lights or nuzzling their companions, it’s all done in the name of loyalty and friendship. Will Rogers said it best: I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.Delta Society: www.deltasociety.org, phone: 425-679-5500Denver Pet Partners: www.denverpetpartners.org, phone: 303-948-6363Canine Companions for Independence: www.caninecompanions.org, phone: 719-260-6151Therapy Dogs, Inc.: www.therapydogs.com, phone: 877-843-7364
