Furry, four-legged therapists needed, wolves need not apply
Wanted: males and females with easy temperaments, exceptional patience and a love for the public, kids and reading. All colors and sizes welcome.
An ad for a dating site?
It’s Paws 4 Friends recruiting therapy dogs and their human handlers to join their volunteer brigade.
“We have more requests than dogs,” said Sue Barnes, Modesto coordinator for Paws 4 Friends, a local club of the national organization, Alliance for Therapy Dogs.
On Saturday morning, three therapy dogs and their handlers were at the Stanislaus County Library, Modesto branch to show their skills and recruit new members to serve the community.
About 30 people came to learn what’s needed for their canines to become therapy dogs.
During the session, Paws 4 Friends panelists explained that therapy dogs are part-time volunteers and work to provide comfort and support in group settings. This is compared to a service dog, which has full-time responsibility to assist one person.
“We go wherever we’re needed to help reduce stress,” said Barnes, “For example, we go to UOP and MJC during finals to help the students.”
In the afternoon session, three different therapy dogs came to demonstrate their talents in the Read-to-a-Dog program at the library.
Barnes said other places they go include hospitals, care facilities, airports, schools and libraries, to name a few. They serve the area from Stockton to south Stanislaus County, but try to meet requests from anywhere in the area.
The panel also discussed the criteria for pups and handlers, who don’t have to be the dog’s owner, to become a therapy team.
“First, your dog has to like it,” said Cheryl Herkenrath. She brought two Golden Retriever sisters, Sierra and Shasta, to demonstrate their abilities, including not interacting with other dogs when on duty.
Temperament and a love of human socializing are important qualities for the furry therapists. In addition, the dogs must be older than 1 year, healthy and current on vaccines. Their humans must have a background check, at their own expense.
Finally, the dog and handler must pass a test of their performance together. A full list of criteria is available at https://www.therapydogs.com/
Paws 4 Friends members, Laura Francis and Eryn Lucas with her dog, Ija, demonstrated that the dogs must be patient and tolerate being touched all over, including having their tails tugged, a favorite activity of little children.
“All breeds except wolves or wolf-mixes are welcome,” said Francis. She said those breeds aren’t eligible because they may have a lower response to rabies vaccines.
Read-to-a-Dog Program
“ We have the dogs come for the Read-to-a-Dog program at seven of the 13 branches of the library,” said Elisa McDaniel, library assistant.
McDaniel said the program provides an opportunity for “reluctant readers,” such as kids who are struggling to learn to read or are hesitant to read in their classroom. They can practice reading aloud to a furry friend who is gentle and non-judgmental, and it helps them build confidence.
She worked with Francis to bring the program to the county libraries in 2017, and it has been popular with parents and kids.
The sessions also include art projects, activities and books, with support from the Friends of the Modesto Library.
“Jeshua has some struggles with reading and talking,” said his mother Felix Soto of Modesto. Jeshua Soto is 6 and in kindergarten and this was his first time reading to the dogs.
He chose to read to Carson, a calm, white whippet and experienced canine listener, as well as an author with help from his human.
Carson and his owner, Eryn Lucas, have written two books about his life and he was offering “paw-tographs.” After the kids read to the dogs, Lucas read Carson’s stories to the children.
Some kids, of all reading abilities, came to the event because they like dogs.
McDaniel said she’s happy with any reason that gets kids to the library.
“I came to read to the dogs because I love dogs and I love to read.” said Lillian, a 7-year-old advanced reader from Modesto.
Lillian easily read a chapter book to Miss Morgan, a 14-year-old rescue mix-breed, the senior therapist belonging to Barnes.
Aubrey Morgan, a 7-year-old from Modesto, patiently waited for her turn to read to Kona, a 4-year-old Rhodesian ridgeback, who gave dog kisses, as well as listening ears, to the young reader.
“Aubrey loves dogs,” said her mother Shawna Morgan of Modesto. She frequently brings Aubrey to the library. When they saw the flier about the dog program, Aubrey insisted on coming.
“I get more out of it than they (the kids) did,” said Barnes, “It’s as much my therapy.”
For additional information to join the therapy dog program, visit: http://www.paws4friends.com/becoming-a-therapy-dog-team.html
For additional information about kid programs at library, visit: http://www.stanislauslibrary.org/tk_kids.shtm
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
