Making news in Puerto Rico

As a young puppy, Riley was certified as a therapy dog. He passed his Canine Good Citizen test (CGC) on his first try at a BMDCNV Fun Day, much to my amazement. I even had my doubts throughout the therapy dog certification process. He was still skittish of people leaning over him and reaching to pet his head. Nevertheless, Riley worked hard, graduated, and we found a perfect job for him. We found him a job at McLean Hospital's Geriatric Alzheimer and Dementia unit (Belmont, MA). With this population, Riley felt at ease. They rarely lounged quickly at him, nor crowded around him, nor stared intently at him. He could enter the hospital and trot about at his own pace, going up to meet the seated patients for a back rub, lick a hand, or have a close face to face encounter if he chose to.

Riley's been a therapy dog at McLean Hospital for almost two years now. He looks forward to his work, as he recognizes his name tag, bandana, and special short lead we use. I know this because as soon as we arrive in the parking lot, he churtles his excited sound and pulls me through the entrance. He waits patiently at the elevator and once we arrive at our floor, he knows exactly where to go. I am proud that my working dog is working hard.

One of Riley's favorite people at McLean is a nurse named Lesley. He knows her as well as her two labs from the local dog park. When he sees her at McLean, it is just an added treat. Frequently he forgets he is at "work" and does naughty things just as jump up on her when he sees her. Lesley, along with many McLean staff, look forward to the therapy dog visits as much as the patients do. People can forget about the stresses of their day for a few minutes when they talk about the dogs, talk about their own dogs, or simply pet the dogs. Many times, the activities director tells me, "this is just great, so-and-so hasn't said much of anything since she's been here." I am pleased that my Berner boy is able to do that for someone.

Lesley recently went to Puerto Rico with collegues for a conference. There she passed out hundreds of copies of an article she wrote about the pet therapy program at McLean's. Here is the link to the article:

http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/employment/nursing/pet.php

We are very excited when other people are excited about pet therapy. It is a wonderful, yet terribly under-researched and under-rated alternative therapy activity. But one thing I know, as long as Riley enjoys working, we will continue working.