A therapy dog’s perspective – to him it’s “People Therapy”

I barely remember before I was a Therapy Dog I guess I was just a self-absorbed pup. People have always delighted me. They have the nicest way of rubbing my tummy, and I love that. I’m a gentle guy for the most part. I try not to be too crazy, and I know the key to get all that I want… cuteness. Most humans are extremely receptive to cuteness, and usually they will give my tummy a rub when I roll over on my back. Some humans understand me pretty well, especially the smaller ones. Their little hands don’t ever seem to be too tired or have “something else” more important to do than to rub my tummy.

I get to visit a lot of children that they keep at the hospital. I love these children because they spend so much time with me, and of course, they rub my tummy. I can make them laugh even when they don’t feel very well. That’s part of my job! My partner and I have an act that we do for the little humans. I have taught her to give me cheese when I “shake hands” or “sit up and beg.” She’s really very reliable about it. I love cheese!

But sometimes the children don’t need tricks, they just want to snuggle and sniff my soft hair, so I sniff theirs, and we just share our warmth. I think that sniffing each other is good for us both. I really love my work; the children, the tummy rubs and of course… the cheese.

Rocky is a Maltese who specializes in visiting hospitalized children with his human, Ann Price. Ann is also one of the instructors for the upcoming Therapy Dog Workshop scheduled for Sept. 10 at the Richmond SPCA. To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name. 

Previous therapy dog posts:
Alumni Feature: Sara Lee brings love and comfort to hospital patients 

Comments

[Nancy Weiler]

The above really sounds as though written by the dog, a very wise and kindly dog.What a great thing to do for patients in the hospital,not only for kids,but for any one spending a spell of time there. I live in a retirement community,and when a visitor brings a dog, its amazing how the faces light up and the very silent,want to talk about a dog they once had. Its a real high light of the day for many of us.