Man’s best friend living up to its billing

Posted 1/30/25

“Happiness is a warm puppy.”  

Captured within the wisdom of the late-cartoonist Charles Schulz’ short quote about dogs is a universal truth regarding canines. The species …

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Man’s best friend living up to its billing

Posted

“Happiness is a warm puppy.” 

Captured within the wisdom of the late-cartoonist Charles Schulz’ short quote about dogs is a universal truth regarding canines. The species has an innate ability to affect the spirit of human beings.  

Nowhere was this more evident than on one recent Saturday at the Caraday Nursing Home in Mineola.  

Three vehicles arrived. The drivers jumped out and busied themselves immediately with something in the back seats of each of the vehicles. Moments later the three drivers (Abby McMillin, Lisa Rask, and Rod Shaull) stood with their teammates: a golden retriever named Apollo, a Dalmatian named Bronco and a mixed Irish setter/poodle named Bailey.

The three teams were members of the national volunteer organization, the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

The visit was conducted in three parts: the reuniting of the therapy dogs with their favorite Caraday employees, a general session held in a common area and visits to residents’ rooms. 

The reuniting of the dogs with their favorite employees was really an unofficial part of the visit. Despite a very high level of training, Bailey simply could not resist jumping for joy when seeing Caraday Director Terri McDow. After a long hello Bailey settled down, and the three teams began their work.

To the great credit of the three handlers, the visit to the residents was highly controlled but conducted in such a manner that the handlers were hardly noticed. 

The program is designed that way. As certified Alliance of Therapy Dog team leader Abby McMillin explained, “We never release our hand from the very short lead of the dog. We must control the dog’s head at all times, it is part of the training.”  

All three trainers deftly maneuvered their charges to wheelchair-bound residents and led their dogs to approach and settle next to them. What then transpired is referred to as ‘grounding’ – when a person reaches out and pets the animal.

As the residents stroked, patted and rubbed a dog, the reactions were usually obvious. Eyes lightened, voices lifted, and for perhaps only the briefest of moments, a child-like wonder could be seen in the eyes of the nursing home residents. 

One of the common remarks was, “You remind me of my babies.” Some residents engaged each dog in conversation, just as one might do with a family pet, but there seemed to be something special about these conversations. One lady resident proceeded to give a long, detailed description of each dog as they came and sat next to her.     

McMillin confirmed that the power of canine therapy is real. “It is proven that interaction with dogs can directly impact one’s blood pressure, heart rate, hormone levels, and brain activity,” she shared. “More importantly, because dogs primarily use their sense of smell as their primary sensory input, followed by their eyesight and hearing, they can detect mood changes and certain symptoms in humans.”

An experienced kennel-operator, McMillin was witness to the power of therapy dogs on her very first outing as a handler.

She related, “Sometimes dogs will use their senses and lead us to someone at a facility who needs comfort. On that particular day, my dog was determined to visit a lady who was seated at the end of a long hallway. He placed his head in her lap and the woman just had a long cry. The dog could sense her sadness.”

At Caraday that day, director McDow – a strong proponent of the alliance – described the visit as highly successful.

“They bring a lot of smiles and unlock a lot of memories,” she commented.

According to McMillin there are two broad categories of assistance dogs: therapy dogs and service dogs. Therapy dogs, and their handlers, are certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, conduct visits only with prior approval, and are not used in general public settings. 

Service dogs play a completely different role. They are trained to conduct tasks or alert to specific medical or mobility conditions of their human. Therefore, they may be unleashed and work in a public environment. 

McMillin also noted that there is a problem today with people falsely claiming a dog at their side is a service dog. 

“The Alliance of Therapy Dogs is a highly-regulated organization, which ensures that the dog has the proper temperament for the work, and that the dog and the handler have the correct relationship for such work,” McMillin explained.  That certification also requires three successful, supervised visits, including two such visits to medical facilities. 

McMillin lauded the structure and procedures in place with the group. 

“It is the certification process which enables all teams, once registered with the alliance, to have liability insurance,” she said.  

There was no doubt Apollo, Bronco and Bailey were ready-to-go upon arrival.

As Rod Shaull explained, “As soon as Bailey sees his vest, he knows he is going to work. We have a grooming routine before each visit and he jumps up on the table as if to say, “Come on, lets get going.’”

The three humans working the Caraday visit came to be handlers through varied paths. It was a tragic event which befell a co-worker that led Shaull to both Bailey and work with the alliance.

For McMillin, her hobby work with dogs simply overcame her life and became her profession.

Newcomer Lisa Rask came to the alliance initially as a way to provide confidence for her counterpart, Bronco. 

All alliance handlers must undergo a background check.

The six local alliance teams conduct 16 monthly visits to Wood and adjacent counties. While visits to Caraday and other nursing homes are common, the group also works with child advocacy services, veterans and is working to expand visits to schools, libraries and funeral homes.

The alliance offers a junior handler program to bring this type of volunteer work to youngsters and their canine companions. 

It was another local event, the monthly veterans breakfast, which set the wheels in motion for the specific visit to Caraday. It was a natural fit, as it is local long-term care groups which sponsor the veterans breakfast.

The motto of the Alliance of Therapy Dogs is “sharing smiles and joys,” and as Shaull – a Marine Corps veteran – noted, work with the alliance is “food for the soul.”