Parker one of the first dogs to earn frequent flyer miles at Midwest Express Airlines

Parker Earns His First Premier Frequent Flyer Miles with Midwest

I was just handed the card: “Precious Cargo Aboard – “Parker” IS ON BOARD by the flight attendant before our plane took off from the Los Angeles airport en route back to our home in Wisconsin. For those who have never flown with a dog before – this is the procedure when you fly with Midwest Airlines so that you know that your pet is secure in the climate controlled cargo area and is on board with you.

I was invited by close friends to come and stay with them in Manhattan Beach, CA and the trip was going to be long enough that it was worthwhile to have Parker join me. (These friends are dog lovers and so this worked out wonderfully.) Julie and Dean have two dogs of their own and live three blocks from the ocean!

Parker and I went for frequent walks on the strand near the ocean, made a series of road trips, stayed in two different motels, participated in fun photo sessions with friends, enjoyed great sunny but ocean breezy weather, and met an untold number of Berner owners and Berner wannabe owners. We were literally stopped on almost every single walk with Parker (not me) being flooded with compliments.

One of the longer road trips (six and a half hours) was planned spontaneously to Roseville, CA near Sacramento to visit my good friend, Peg McQueary and her husband, Dale. Peg and I had frequent phone conversations in the wee hours of the night, multiple emails back and forth, shared tips and Berner care information, and shared multiple Berner related photographs but have never met in person! Peg had helped me select the stud dog who ultimately became Parker’s father. Donner who belonged to a special friend of Peg’s was a fun loving woman who had wisely saved semen from him before he and then she had ultimately passed. The breeding was that utilizing frozen semen breedings two years ago and two and a half years ago respectively. The first produced a litter of six of which Parker is from and the other produced a litter of thirteen of which “Spirit” is from. The second breeding produced a world’s record for Bernese Mountain Dogs with the use of frozen semen as told to me by the International Canine Semen Bank.

I placed “Spirit” who is Parker’s half sister with Peg as they share Donner as their father and their dams are half sisters from two of planned breedings four years ago and five and a half years ago. Peg is a photographer and is responsible for the set up of the photo of myself and Parker by the wading pool in her back yard – complete with rubber ducky and blowing bubbles. Parker posed well for this as well as pictures with his half-sister, “Spirit”.

My sister who lives in Arizona and I had arranged to meet half way and so Parker joined me on yet another road trip to Palm Springs, CA. He stayed in the motel with us and then joined us to visit the Botanical Gardens. He surprised me by jumping on the table directly next to where the rare cactuses were displayed. Since the temperature was 109 degrees and since I did not want to pull cacti quills out of Parker we didn’t stay long. Much air conditioning and a lot of ice were needed for the “Parkster” on this part of the trip.

We returned back to Manhattan Beach where both Parker and I had been spoiled by a very relaxed routine. This trip was over 3 and half weeks before the “real world was rearing its head and I needed to return to the work force. Parker is quite attached to me as Berner owners are all to familiar with and so I could not leave him with Julie and Dean for evenings because he would not settle down and resorted to howling like a wolf looking for me and awaiting my return. Poor Julie lost two nights of sleep before the decision was made NOT to try that again. Other than that, counter surfing and eating a pound and a half of ground beef Julie was defrosting for dinner, and the usual tumble weed shedding action, Parker was the perfect quest.

He entertained Julie, Dean, and I by is play antics with Gerta, their beloved Weimariener and with “Millie” a tiny fox terrier mix that they had rescued from the street earlier this year. It was fun to watch the play and Julie captured this with photos. Julie and I did two or three front yard photo sessions with Mille, Gerta and Parker. Parker is such an experienced poser that when the photo session was over and we were back in the house with the other two dogs we realized that Parker was still outside by himself very quietly sitting in the same spot for more picture taking. We would have to tell him he was released and only then would he follow us back in to the house!

Parker was also a riot on frequent rest area stops on our road trips. He has a deep love and passion for children, including babies and his favorite: toddlers. At one rest area north of LA, enroot to Sacramento, Parker attempted to “herd” a toddler who insisted on playing with his water dish. Luckily this cute little boy could not stop giggling with this behavior and his mother and siblings fell in love with Parker with mom saying she could use this kind of help at home.

I finish this article on my lap top not really looking forward to that real world aspect I referred to earlier. The staff of Midwest Airlines treat dogs so well and it is the only airlines, that I would consider taking a dog on. Parker’s grandmother, “Mora” had made two or three earlier trips to CA with me to visit the same great friends. Since the cargo area is climate controlled there is not the restrictions in the timing of flying that one experiences with other airlines. Also, I have personally watched the personnel go out of their way to gently handle the crate and offer water. I purposely tape pictures of my Berners outside of the crate with a typed message stating “take good care of me until I reach my destination” to hopefully enhance the special care the dogs receive.

I just swiped another home made chocolate chip cookie as I conclude this article. The flight attendant made the mistake of setting the tray next to my seat. Also one of the flight attendants saw pictures of Parker and so she came back to my seat with beautiful photos of her two Bernese Mountain Dogs. We land in an hour and a half and I have a bottle of water packed in my case with my sister-in-law Jane coming to pick both of us up and bringing a water container. As is my custom, I over pack and had to leave the dog bowls at Julie and Dean’s house. (Hopefully these will be used on our next trip.)
I was just handed the card: “Precious Cargo Aboard – “Parker” IS ON BOARD by the flight attendant before our plane took off from the Los Angeles airport en route back to our home in Wisconsin. For those who have never flown with a dog before – this is the procedure when you fly with Midwest Airlines so that you know that your pet is secure in the climate controlled cargo area and is on board with you.

I was invited by close friends to come and stay with them in Manhattan Beach, CA and the trip was going to be long enough that it was worthwhile to have Parker join me. (These friends are dog lovers and so this worked out wonderfully.) Julie and Dean have two dogs of their own and live three blocks from the ocean!

Parker and I went for frequent walks on the strand near the ocean, made a series of road trips, stayed in two different motels, participated in fun photo sessions with friends, enjoyed great sunny but ocean breezy weather, and met an untold number of Berner owners and Berner wannabe owners. We were literally stopped on almost every single walk with Parker (not me) being flooded with compliments.

One of the longer road trips (six and a half hours) was planned spontaneously to Roseville, CA near Sacramento to visit my good friend, Peg McQueary and her husband, Dale. Peg and I had frequent phone conversations in the wee hours of the night, multiple emails back and forth, shared tips and Berner care information, and shared multiple Berner related photographs but have never met in person! Peg had helped me select the stud dog who ultimately became Parker’s father. Donner who belonged to a special friend of Peg’s was a fun loving woman who had wisely saved semen from him before he and then she had ultimately passed. The breeding was that utilizing frozen semen breedings two years ago and two and a half years ago respectively. The first produced a litter of six of which Parker is from and the other produced a litter of thirteen of which “Spirit” is from. The second breeding produced a world’s record for Bernese Mountain Dogs with the use of frozen semen as told to me by the International Canine Semen Bank.

I placed “Spirit” who is Parker’s half sister with Peg as they share Donner as their father and their dams are half sisters from two of planned breedings four years ago and five and a half years ago. Peg is a photographer and is responsible for the set up of the photo of myself and Parker by the wading pool in her back yard – complete with rubber ducky and blowing bubbles. Parker posed well for this as well as pictures with his half-sister, “Spirit”.

My sister who lives in Arizona and I had arranged to meet half way and so Parker joined me on yet another road trip to Palm Springs, CA. He stayed in the motel with us and then joined us to visit the Botanical Gardens. He surprised me by jumping on the table directly next to where the rare cactuses were displayed. Since the temperature was 109 degrees and since I did not want to pull cacti quills out of Parker we didn’t stay long. Much air conditioning and a lot of ice were needed for the “Parkster” on this part of the trip.

We returned back to Manhattan Beach where both Parker and I had been spoiled by a very relaxed routine. This trip was over 3 and half weeks before the “real world was rearing its head and I needed to return to the work force. Parker is quite attached to me as Berner owners are all to familiar with and so I could not leave him with Julie and Dean for evenings because he would not settle down and resorted to howling like a wolf looking for me and awaiting my return. Poor Julie lost two nights of sleep before the decision was made NOT to try that again. Other than that, counter surfing and eating a pound and a half of ground beef Julie was defrosting for dinner, and the usual tumble weed shedding action, Parker was the perfect quest.

He entertained Julie, Dean, and I by is play antics with Gerta, their beloved Weimariener and with “Millie” a tiny fox terrier mix that they had rescued from the street earlier this year. It was fun to watch the play and Julie captured this with photos. Julie and I did two or three front yard photo sessions with Mille, Gerta and Parker. Parker is such an experienced poser that when the photo session was over and we were back in the house with the other two dogs we realized that Parker was still outside by himself very quietly sitting in the same spot for more picture taking. We would have to tell him he was released and only then would he follow us back in to the house!

Parker was also a riot on frequent rest area stops on our road trips. He has a deep love and passion for children, including babies and his favorite: toddlers. At one rest area north of LA, enroot to Sacramento, Parker attempted to “herd” a toddler who insisted on playing with his water dish. Luckily this cute little boy could not stop giggling with this behavior and his mother and siblings fell in love with Parker with mom saying she could use this kind of help at home.

I finish this article on my lap top not really looking forward to that real world aspect I referred to earlier. The staff of Midwest Airlines treat dogs so well and it is the only airlines, that I would consider taking a dog on. Parker’s grandmother, “Mora” had made two or three earlier trips to CA with me to visit the same great friends. Since the cargo area is climate controlled there is not the restrictions in the timing of flying that one experiences with other airlines. Also, I have personally watched the personnel go out of their way to gently handle the crate and offer water. I purposely tape pictures of my Berners outside of the crate with a typed message stating “take good care of me until I reach my destination” to hopefully enhance the special care the dogs receive.

I just swiped another home made chocolate chip cookie as I conclude this article. The flight attendant made the mistake of setting the tray next to my seat. Also one of the flight attendants saw pictures of Parker and so she came back to my seat with beautiful photos of her two Bernese Mountain Dogs. We land in an hour and a half and I have a bottle of water packed in my case with my sister-in-law Jane coming to pick both of us up and bringing a water container. As is my custom, I over pack and had to leave the dog bowls at Julie and Dean’s house. (Hopefully these will be used on our next trip.)

I was just handed the card: “Precious Cargo Aboard – “Parker” IS ON BOARD by the flight attendant before our plane took off from the Los Angeles airport en route back to our home in Wisconsin. For those who have never flown with a dog before – this is the procedure when you fly with Midwest Airlines so that you know that your pet is secure in the climate controlled cargo area and is on board with you.

I was invited by close friends to come and stay with them in Manhattan Beach, CA and the trip was going to be long enough that it was worthwhile to have Parker join me. (These friends are dog lovers and so this worked out wonderfully.) Julie and Dean have two dogs of their own and live three blocks from the ocean!

Parker and I went for frequent walks on the strand near the ocean, made a series of road trips, stayed in two different motels, participated in fun photo sessions with friends, enjoyed great sunny but ocean breezy weather, and met an untold number of Berner owners and Berner wannabe owners. We were literally stopped on almost every single walk with Parker (not me) being flooded with compliments.

One of the longer road trips (six and a half hours) was planned spontaneously to Roseville, CA near Sacramento to visit my good friend, Peg McQueary and her husband, Dale. Peg and I had frequent phone conversations in the wee hours of the night, multiple emails back and forth, shared tips and Berner care information, and shared multiple Berner related photographs but have never met in person! Peg had helped me select the stud dog who ultimately became Parker’s father. Donner who belonged to a special friend of Peg’s was a fun loving woman who had wisely saved semen from him before he and then she had ultimately passed. The breeding was that utilizing frozen semen breedings two years ago and two and a half years ago respectively. The first produced a litter of six of which Parker is from and the other produced a litter of thirteen of which “Spirit” is from. The second breeding produced a world’s record for Bernese Mountain Dogs with the use of frozen semen as told to me by the International Canine Semen Bank.

I placed “Spirit” who is Parker’s half sister with Peg as they share Donner as their father and their dams are half sisters from two of planned breedings four years ago and five and a half years ago. Peg is a photographer and is responsible for the set up of the photo of myself and Parker by the wading pool in her back yard – complete with rubber ducky and blowing bubbles. Parker posed well for this as well as pictures with his half-sister, “Spirit”.

My sister who lives in Arizona and I had arranged to meet half way and so Parker joined me on yet another road trip to Palm Springs, CA. He stayed in the motel with us and then joined us to visit the Botanical Gardens. He surprised me by jumping on the table directly next to where the rare cactuses were displayed. Since the temperature was 109 degrees and since I did not want to pull cacti quills out of Parker we didn’t stay long. Much air conditioning and a lot of ice were needed for the “Parkster” on this part of the trip.

We returned back to Manhattan Beach where both Parker and I had been spoiled by a very relaxed routine. This trip was over 3 and half weeks before the “real world was rearing its head and I needed to return to the work force. Parker is quite attached to me as Berner owners are all to familiar with and so I could not leave him with Julie and Dean for evenings because he would not settle down and resorted to howling like a wolf looking for me and awaiting my return. Poor Julie lost two nights of sleep before the decision was made NOT to try that again. Other than that, counter surfing and eating a pound and a half of ground beef Julie was defrosting for dinner, and the usual tumble weed shedding action, Parker was the perfect quest.

He entertained Julie, Dean, and I by is play antics with Gerta, their beloved Weimariener and with “Millie” a tiny fox terrier mix that they had rescued from the street earlier this year. It was fun to watch the play and Julie captured this with photos. Julie and I did two or three front yard photo sessions with Mille, Gerta and Parker. Parker is such an experienced poser that when the photo session was over and we were back in the house with the other two dogs we realized that Parker was still outside by himself very quietly sitting in the same spot for more picture taking. We would have to tell him he was released and only then would he follow us back in to the house!

Parker was also a riot on frequent rest area stops on our road trips. He has a deep love and passion for children, including babies and his favorite: toddlers. At one rest area north of LA, enroot to Sacramento, Parker attempted to “herd” a toddler who insisted on playing with his water dish. Luckily this cute little boy could not stop giggling with this behavior and his mother and siblings fell in love with Parker with mom saying she could use this kind of help at home.

I finish this article on my lap top not really looking forward to that real world aspect I referred to earlier. The staff of Midwest Airlines treat dogs so well and it is the only airlines, that I would consider taking a dog on. Parker’s grandmother, “Mora” had made two or three earlier trips to CA with me to visit the same great friends. Since the cargo area is climate controlled there is not the restrictions in the timing of flying that one experiences with other airlines. Also, I have personally watched the personnel go out of their way to gently handle the crate and offer water. I purposely tape pictures of my Berners outside of the crate with a typed message stating “take good care of me until I reach my destination” to hopefully enhance the special care the dogs receive.

I just swiped another home made chocolate chip cookie as I conclude this article. The flight attendant made the mistake of setting the tray next to my seat. Also one of the flight attendants saw pictures of Parker and so she came back to my seat with beautiful photos of her two Bernese Mountain Dogs. We land in an hour and a half and I have a bottle of water packed in my case with my sister-in-law Jane coming to pick both of us up and bringing a water container. As is my custom, I over pack and had to leave the dog bowls at Julie and Dean’s house. (Hopefully these will be used on our next trip.)

Caution with Pet therapy visits.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507101820.htm

Tools ‹ Counseling Center of Lake Geneva's Blog — WordPress

Tools ‹ Counseling Center of Lake Geneva’s Blog — WordPress.

Recent Studies About Dogs in the NEWS

Recent Dog Behavior Excerpts in the News!
Stanly Huber, a professor of psychology at the University of Columbia, told the American Psychological Association that the newest research strategy for understanding dogs is to use tests meant for very young children.
“One of the most recent breakthroughs is that people began to use tests which were originally designed for young humans — for pre-linguistic or limited-linguistic humans — to see whether dogs had certain capacities.
Coren’s presentation included a review of numerous studies that show how dogs are more like humans than previously thought. He says dogs can learn about 165 words, including signals; they can count up to four or five and have a basic understanding of arithmetic. Also, he says, dogs can intentionally deceive other dogs and people to get treats they want.
Source: USA Today 8/10/2009 by Sharon Jayson

A new study says dogs have the capacity of a 2-year-old child in understanding hand gestures.
The comparison of dogs with kids reportedly does not end there. As a result of domestication, other similarities include learning human pointing gestures in “next to zero learning time” and figuring out visual communication. The article states that chimpanzees and other non-human primates often flunk pointing gesture tests, “dogs may understand humans better than even our closest living relative do.” In the current issue of Animal Cognition, a researcher, Gabriella Lakotas explained that that dogs appear predisposed to read other human visual signals, including head-turning and gazing.”

One explanation is that many owners use baby talk which is reportedly known as “ motherese” with both dogs and children. As a result, dogs and young children receive similar social stimulation. She points out that chimpanzees do NOT actively share food where dogs are often eager to cooperate.

She does caution however, that no one should think that dogs are just furry 2 year old children. “Nobody has tried to herd a flock of sheep with two-year old (human children).”

Source:
Updated 7:34 p.m. CT, Mon., July 13, 2009

Contributed by: Mark J. Mohapp, LCSW

Recent Dog Health Excerpts in the News

New Evidence that Second-hand Smoke Harms Pets
“A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs in smoking households had a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer; a different study published in the same journal showed that long-nosed dogs, such as collies or greyhounds, were twice as likely to develop nasal cancer if they lived with smokers.”

“As the human-animal bond becomes stronger, we share more of our lives, our leisure time and our living space with our companion animals, and they become exposed to the same environmental hazards that we do. Many of our habits, including smoking, can affect our pets as they would affect any other member of our household.”

Source: Second-Hand Smoke Affects Pets, Too
By News Staff | January 27th 2007 11:00

I read a recent article about third hand smoke being dangerous for babies and pets. At first I attempted to figure out what would be the definition of “third hand smoke” and thought it must be the residue left behind after the second hand smoke settled. It seemed to fit when I thought about babies not having the freedom to move and pets depending on their type being confined to an area where someone had smoked. I asked my neighbor who is a physician and he said that the article was true and he always cringed when he saw young children, babies or pets traveling in a car with someone smoking.

“Jonathan Winickoff, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and one of the authors of the study, defines third-hand smoke as the “tobacco smoke contamination that remains after the cigarette is extinguished.” Apparently over time even in cars when the windows are open during smoking or in homes a layer of toxins build up. Reportedly although the residue may be less concentrated than second hand smoke, babies crawling and dogs and other pets walking frequently over this residue has a negative effect on their health.

It is the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor.

Excerpts from: SMOKER’S PET — By JULIA SZABO, New York Post 03/07/04 and
Does Secondhand Smoke Harm Cats and Dogs?
Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM

Small children are especially susceptible to third-hand smoke exposure because they can inhale near, crawl and play on, or touch and mouth contaminated surfaces. Third-hand smoke can remain indoors even long after the smoking has stopped. Similar to low-level lead exposure, low levels of tobacco particulates have been associated with cognitive deficits among children, and the higher the exposure level, the lower the reading score. These findings underscore the possibility that even extremely low levels of these compounds may be neurotoxic and, according to the researchers, justify restricting all smoking in indoor areas inhabited by children.

Source: ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2008)

ScienceDaily (Feb. 10, 2009) — Smokers are more likely to quit smoking for the sake of their pets’ health than they are for their own, suggests research published ahead of print in Tobacco Control.

In an online survey conducted in south eastern Michigan people were quizzed about what they knew about their partners smoking habits and the effects of second hand smoke on their pets. “Nearly one in three of the smokers (28.4%) said that knowing that smoking was bad for their pets’ health would spur them to give it up. And almost one in 10 (8.7%) said this would prompt them to ask their partners to quit, while around one in seven (14%) said they would tell their partner to smoke outdoors.”

“A recent study by researchers in Michigan turned up some interesting statistics. It seems that one in three would quit smoking if they thought their pet would be adversely affected. This is interesting because in other studies, fewer than 2% would quit smoking if they knew their children would suffer harmful effects and 3.2% would consider quitting under family pressure. Clearly the pets win hands down.”

Source: People more likely to quit smoking for their dogs than their children
February 20, 2:13 AM Health Care Examiner Doctor Lissa

“Almost two thirds of US households have a pet, and their combined spending power on pet supplies and over the counter medicines was estimated to be in the region of more than US$ 10 billion last year. And a survey carried out by the American Animal Hospital Association in 2008 showed that more than half of the respondents said that if they were stranded on a desert island, they would prefer the company of their pet to that of another person.”

Adapted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

‘Third-hand smoke’: a new danger from cigarettes

A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke’
Roni Caryn Rabin | New York Times | 01.04.2009

Riham Feshir
Park Rapids Enterprise
Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:51 UTC

Contributed by Mark J. Mohapp, LCSW

My Start with AAT or Animal Assisted Therapy

Counseling and Dogs
My start with AAT or Animal Assisted Therapy

Last year, in the middle of planning for just the right stud dog for my gal, Stella, for breeding, I was talking to Jan, a stud dog owner in CA who asked what kind of work I did. When I replied: “I work as a Clinical Social Worker in private practice,” Jan stated that she felt very firmly, that every Psychiatrist should always have a Bernese Mountain Dog sitting at the front door! I chuckled because I knew exactly what she meant. It led me to think of the times I brought puppies and some of my dogs to my clinic and the office.

One day a college student, who was a client of mine, arrived for his appointment and was unusually calm. After the typical welcoming and greeting comments he started sobbing and told me the story of his father’s unexpected and sudden death. As coincidence happens (or maybe it was not coincidence), I had brought a couple of four week old puppies from a current litter to my office. I watched my client’s eyes as I talked to him and he continued to stare at the pups playing on the floor and then asked if he could hold one. I responded “Of course!” He picked one up and cradled it and after several minutes, he was able to talk more about his recent loss.

Patricia McConnell, PH.D., just wrote a book: For The Love Of A Dog that speaks of the emotion in people and in dogs and the remarkable similarities. There is a rising demand nationwide for visiting pets in nursing homes, hospitals, and community adult centers. I had a weekend job as a house parent for developmentally disabled and the only way I could find to get one resident up in the morning was to have my dog, Amelia, jump onto her bed. The woman would light up and yell: “Stop being such a Yahoo!” However, she would then finally get up and out of bed for the day.

In order for dogs to be involved in therapy work, it is important for us to understand that canines have emotions similar to humans and that not every dog is suited to this type of work. There is proper training, screening, and credentials dogs receive. These include AKC’s recognized Canine Good Citizen Test, and organizations such as Delta Society and Therapy Dogs International to allow special dogs for this purpose to be certified as Therapy Dogs. General Obedience training is required as well as desensitizing, acclimation, and orientation to novel experiences that the ordinary dog may never experience such as elevators, escalators, loud or unusual noises, wheel chairs, rehabilitation devices, etc.

Service dogs and Therapy dogs are not the same. Service dogs or assistance dogs “are vitally important to those people with disabilities.” This would include: dogs for the blind, hearing dogs, mobility assistance dogs, seizure alert dogs and more. Therapy dogs provide a task “by invitation.” A Service dog is entitled to be with its owner while a Therapy dog does not have a right of access. The right is associated with the person and not the dog.

When I bring my dogs to my place of work, I find a rippling effect of joy and smiles in the waiting room. More importantly I find it often; the other therapists ask me if they can borrow of the dogs for one of their sessions. When working with clientele of all ages, ranging from young to children to elderly, there is a universal common bond that dogs provide for most people. In the book: Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals this bond is spoken of. The author, Rupert Sheldrake points out “Social animals are linked to other members of their group by invisible bonds.” We can compare this truth to that of human bonds. For some reason, this statement impressed me: “The bonds between people and animals are a kind of hybrid between bonds that animals form with each other and those that people form with each other.”

Pets can help people who are bereaved. Sheldrake points out that “some of the dog owners reported that their dog was a greater source of comfort than relatives and friends.”

Pets can offer children both companionship and security. This relates to the eight year old who experienced a negative past with her alcoholic father referred to below.

Dogs in particular help people make friends. Research at Cambridge University showed that people acquiring dogs developed a greater sense of security and self esteem. One study showed that delinquent adolescents were twice as likely to talk to their pets and seek out their company when lonely or bored. A study in Baltimore, Maryland as explained by Sheldrake, the impact of pets in sixty families experienced increased closeness, spent more time playing together, and argued less.

(I always ask if the clients are allergic or afraid of dogs before utilizing them in a therapy session.) Also, I make sure that the purpose of the pup or the dog in the room has a therapeutic meaning and is not a distraction or merely convenience for me. I must confess, however, what a GREAT manner of socializing puppies. In large litters I alternate who gets to go to the office. 

“Dogs are forever in the moment. They are always a tidal wave of feelings, and every feeling is some variant of love.” (Cynthia Heimel)

In another example, I dealt with an eight year old girl, who did not trust men. Her mother divorced her abusive alcoholic father and my dogs and puppies assisted in providing a buffer for her to learn that all men are NOT like her father. She used to be confused if her mother or her family accounted men who were healthy, displaying kindness, humor, and support. The scars her father left behind were hard to overcome; however, given time, her mother informed me that she is a very different little girl with newly bolstered self-esteem and trust in others in an appropriate manner.

Change in people in counseling is achieved through forming a therapeutic alliance between the therapist and the client. It will not occur without that basic foundation. I feel the following quote is related to this sentiment:

“I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better.” (George Bird Evans)

Many people mistakenly have the notion that working as a clinical therapist is an easy job that gains one lots of money. This is not the case in my opinion. An experienced and sound therapist must utilize every trick learned in graduate school, clinical internships, and consultation with other therapists, educational seminars, and experience.

“I have found that when you are deeply troubled there are things you get from the silent, devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.” (Doris Day)

As a clinician, I find myself frequently using psychobabble terms such as: empathy, acceptance, companionship, emotional security, and affection. The single most important factor in a healing power whether it comes from animals or from people is unconditional love. This may very well sum up my rationale for having dogs at the work place.

(Please note that I did not elaborate on liability issues when bringing dogs to the work place. I recommend that anyone who currently or is planning on bringing their dog(s) to work explore this topic further.)

Mark J. Mohapp, MSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Clinical Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor

Below are links on the net that you may be interested in related to this topic:

Animal-Assisted Therapy Links…
Delta Society
Therapy Dogs International
Therapy Dogs Incorporated
Latham Foundation
Center for The Human-Animal Bond
Censhare
Green Chimneys
Prison Pet Partnership Program
Furry Friends
Therapy Dogs.Net

Recommended Readings on AAA/AAT
Therapy Dogs, Training Your Dog To Reach Others by Kathy Diamond Davis. A nice overview of the basic skills needed in a handler-dog visiting team.
Volunteering With Your Pet, How To Get Involved In Animal Assisted Therapy With Any Kind Of Pet by Mary R. Burch, Ph.D. A good, basic overview of the types of animals and settings suitable for AAA programs, and how to get started.
Handbook of Animal Assisted Therapy, Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice by Aubrey Fine. A well-researched text geared towards professionals looking to include AAT into their clinical practices.
Between Pets and People by Alan Beck and Aaron Katcher. This book is a well-written review of some of the physical, mental and social benefits to humans living with animals.
Rosie, A Visiting Dog’s Story by Stephanie Calmenson. A lovely picture book for children documenting the training of a visiting dog. Includes many nice photos of Rosie visiting with clients in a variety of settings, including children.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. Award winning children’s book on how a stray dog brings a community of lonely people together. The protagonist is a little girl who has lost her mother. A touching and moving story for adults as well.