therapy dogs

The Significance of February and Frankie

Posted by Barbara Techel

calendar

Today I turned my therapy dog calendar to February. It all hit me… the significance of it all.

You see, this calendar was the last project Frankie participated in, which was a calendar done of local therapy dogs.  I had orginanlly asked that Frankie be the feature for August (since August was her birthday). But there was some confusion as to someone else wanting that month.  I didn’t make a fuss about it, as it really did’n’t matter, I was just glad to have Frankie part of the project that helped raise money for a local cancer care fund.  I thought she was going to be the dog for January but when I got my copy late last year I saw she was February. Again, I didn’t think too much of it.

As I flipped the calendar today and saw my sweet girl for February so many things came flooding back to me. First to see her there on the calendar made me so proud of all she accomplished in her almost thirteen years. Second, this is the month I will launch my book Through Frankie’s Eyes.  The special edition will be released on Feb. 14th. The day I launched my first children’s book about Frankie was on Feb. 24th, 2008.  My book launch for my new book is Feb. 28th.

I don’t know about you, but I love being open to what may seem like coincidences, but really I think it is truly synchronicity. Because when you live from your heart center, life has a way of working out just as it should. This is exactly what February and Frankie is telling me– reaffirming for me that I’m traveling down the right path. And I also believe it we are open to signs from our loved ones from the other side, that they are there… Frankie is very much alive within me as I sit in awe and thanks for something as simple as turning the calendar to February. Oh sweet girl, you are so amazing!  Thank you for stopping by to say hello again and cheer me on into the next leg of my journey.

PS:  Another great thing about February?  A fantastic review and write up was done by editor, Jerry of Dachshund Delights for my new book.  Check it out!

Nearly 100 Dogs Worked at the Trade Center Ten Years Ago; only 12 are left.

Posted by Barbara Techel

Thank you to Susan for sending me these wonderful photos and stories about these very special hero dogs.  I hope this warms your heart today as much as it did mine.

 

THESE OLD WONDERFUL FACES SAY IT ALL…

These are the surviving dogs that worked the trade center that are still alive but
retired, they are heroes too, their eyes say everything you need to know about
them. Just amazing creatures True heroes of 9/11 still with us today…

Moxie, 13, from Winthrop , Massachusetts , arrived with
her handler, Mark Aliberti, at the World Trade Center on the
evening of September 11 and searched the site for eight days.

Tara, 16, from Ipswich, Massachusetts , arrived at the
World Trade Center on the night of the 11th. The dog
and her handler Lee Prentiss were there for eight days.

Kaiser, 12, pictured at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, was deployed
to the World Trade Center on September 11 and searched tirelessly for
people in the rubble.

Bretagne and his owner Denise Corliss from Cypress, Texas, arrived at
the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days.

 

Guinness, 15, from Highland , California , started work at the site with Sheila McKee
on the morning of September 13 and was deployed at the site for 11 days.

Merlyn and his handler Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground
Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days.

 

Red, 11, from Annapolis , Maryland , went with Heather Roche to the Pentagon
from September 16 until the 27 as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines.

 

Abigail, above, was deployed on the evening of September 17,
searching for 10 days while Tuff arrived in New York at 11:00
pm on the day of attack to start working early the next day.

Handler Julie Noyes and Hoke were deployed to
the World Trade Center from their home in Denver
on September 24 and searched for five days.

Scout and another unknown dog lie among the rubble at Ground Zero,
just two of nearly 100 search and rescue animals who helped to search
for survivors. During the chaos of the 9/11 attacks, where almost 3,000
people died, nearly 100 loyal search and rescue dogs and their brave
owners scoured Ground Zero for survivors.

Now, ten years on, just 12 of these heroic canines survive, and they have
been commemorated in a touching series of portraits entitled ‘Retrieved’.
The dogs worked tirelessly to search for anyone trapped alive in the rubble,
along with countless emergency service workers and members of the public.

Traveling across nine states in the U.S. from Texas to Maryland , Dutch
photographer Charlotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their
twilight years in their homes where they still live with their handlers, a full
decade on from 9/11. Their stories have now been compiled in a book, called
Retrieved. Noted for her touching portraits of animals, especially dogs
Charlotte wanted ‘Retrieved’ to mark not only the anniversary of the
September 2001 attacks, but also as recognition for some of the first
responders and their dogs.’ I felt this was a turning point, especially for the
dogs, who although are not forgotten, are not as prominent as the human
stories involved,’ explained Charlotte, who splits her time between New
York and Amsterdam.’They speak to us as a different species and animals
are greatly important for our sense of empathy and to put things into perspective.’

Therapy Dogs in the Classroom. Good Idea or Not?

Posted by Barbara Techel

Frankie posing in her new bandanna after receiving her therapy dog certification in 2008

Recently I overheard someone (who is training her dog to be a therapy dog) ask a former teacher if she felt it was a good idea to bring therapy dogs into classrooms.  The response was: “I think therapy dogs are overworked and this causes them stress and why they die so young.”  I was very surprised to hear this for so many reasons– and yes, in part, because I took it personally because Frankie was a therapy dog.  It is likely she didn’t mean me personally, but it seemed to include all therapy dogs, that I can’t help but speak to this.  And on the behalf of not knowing the full reasons for this being said maybe there was a situation in this person’s life that has caused her to feel this way.

Are there people who put undo stress on their dogs?  Yes, no doubt. But there are many other situations where dogs are caused stress. But I’ll speak to the therapy dog issue and my thoughts. First and foremost, I was always very conscious of never putting any undo stress on Frankie. Her well being always came first. I loved my work with her, and I was so passionate about sharing our message. But as she aged I knew we needed to slow down. I knew I had to be very aware of what she could handle and that she needed time to just be a dog too. I found ways around it like using Skype and social media to share our message without putting stress on her.

Most dogs need a job. This has been said over and over again. Not all dogs are meant to be therapy dogs, but many that are, are really good at their job. They also have positively impacted so many lives in so many amazing ways. Can they get stressed from being a therapy dog?  Absolutely!  Especially in a hospice situation where they take in all the emotions that go with that. It is very trying on a dog to do that line of work. So it’s important that the owner is aware of this and watches for signs of stress in their pet and limit their exposure.

Animals in classrooms have also proven to instill so many valuable lessons. It makes me sad to think if Frankie and I would never have had the opportunity to help children because of this opinion that may be shared by others too. For the most part, I think therapy dog work is such a win-win for all involved. It gives the dog a job to do. It gives the owner of the pet a wonderful experience in not only the deepening of their relationship with their pet, but the people and children they meet along the way.

I guess the bottom line for me hearing this is that I didn’t feel it was completely true.  Yes, there are exceptions where pets are exploited and overworked, and this causes me great sadness when I think this has happened.  Also there are oodles of reasons why a dog may die young.  Could overworking your dog as a therapy dog be one of them?  Yes, I’m sure it could and I think it is important that handlers recognize and realize this and that their dogs need time off.  And in a recent interview I did with Lisa J. Edwards who is the author of  A Dog Named Boo she stated that dogs are not meant to work eight hours a day and why she teaches responsible therapy dog work to those interested in this line of volunteer work.

So again, while I don’t know the full circumstances to why this statement was made, I did feel it important to clarify the good side to therapy dog work while also bringing attention to those that have a therapy dog, or those giving thought to it, that they are cognizant of their pets, making sure they are healthy and as happy as can be.