Not all Angels have wings…some have fur. Imagine the love of a dog helping a young struggling reader or opening the heart of an elder in assisted care. Share-A-Pet (SAP) is a national pet assisted therapy organization creating therapy teams to visit with the elderly in hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Since our inception in 2003, SAP volunteers and therapy teams have seen many encouraging results on a sustained basis from the people receiving pet assisted therapy. The canine connections are amazing.
Through my work with SAP, I personally had a very heart-warming experience. One of the residents in an assisted living facility I visit each week had not spoken during the three years of his residency. For the first several months of our pet therapy at the facility, my dog, Molly and I would cautiously approach this gentleman in his wheelchair. Molly would lay her head in his lap, and he would just stare ahead. He had no recognition of us or interaction of any kind. I would always say,
“Would you like to pet Molly?” “Can you say hello Molly.” Nothing, he never spoke a word. After about three months, on one of our visits we did as we had always done. His wife was standing behind his wheelchair, and the Activities Director happened to be with us that day. When Molly placed her head on his lap this time, he spoke to her, “doggy, doggy.” We looked at each other and we all had tears in our eyes. This was the first time he had spoken in years. On our next visit he was able to say, “Molly, doggy.”
It is these types of once-in-a-lifetime events that make it a win-win-win: for the residents, for the dogs and for me. Another SAP highlight for me is our frequent get-togethers with our volunteers and their dogs. We talk about our experiences, any problems, and suggestions and just have a fun enjoying each other.
Our services can help elders and youngsters. This past holiday season a number of our pet therapy teams visited Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco. To watch the children at the center interact with our volunteers and dogs was wonderful. Our dogs loved to be petted and spoiled with attention. The children played with the dogs, walked our dogs, sat with our dogs; it was a very happy day for all of us.
Our Pawsitive Reading Program volunteers provide a loving, supportive non-judgmental atmosphere to struggling readers in elementary schools. The program has improved fluency and comprehension in these readers, in addition to improving their self-esteem. The children love to sit next to our dogs and read to them.
Locally, we have over 25 teams placed between San Francisco and Sunnyvale. We are always looking for qualified teams. We especially have a need for new volunteers have who educational experience: working with children in a structured education program and retired educators.
Dog-volunteers must be: well behaved, people friendly, get along with other dogs, be at least one year old and be spayed or neutered. If you have the time to volunteer, we would be happy to send you an application packet. With emphasis on a family structure, the SAP organization oversees the activities of its volunteers from recruiting and training to ongoing involvement and support.
We invite you to visit our website: shareapet.org to learn all about the wonderful experiences our pet therapy teams have each week.
Larry Moskovitz is the California Director of Share-A-Pet. He and his wife Patti love sharing their dog, Molly with others. You can find further information about Share-A-Pet at: shareapet.org or email Larry directly at: info.ca@shareapet.org
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