Future therapy dog?

Just wanted to share this Cavalier story:

My best friend was born with one arm that basically ends at the elbow. Since she's always lived with this disability, she's learned to do 99.9% of what everyone else does with 2 hands/arms with her one arm, including tying shoes, clipping fingernails, everything. I forget about her arm completely because she isn't hindered by it at all and I've known her for so long.

She came to visit us a couple of weeks ago and she told me that another friend of hers had just gotten a ruby cavalier puppy recently and that every time she is at this friend's house, this puppy continually licks her "bad" arm! It's like she's concerned about it and wants to make it better. I thought that was very sweet and I was interested to see if Daisy would do the same when my friend came to our house (she didn't). Doesn't it sound like that little Cav would make a great therapy dog?

That is an incredible story about your friend and that little Ruby Cavalier!

A few weeks ago at our local Cavalier meet-up, our group leader invited members from Delta Society come and talk to us about the therapy program. They said that Cavaliers are perfect candidates for therapy dogs --- which I'm sure everyone in the whole wide world will agree --- and shared many heartwarming stories about the experiences that they had in visiting the patients (many times dying patients) in various medical facilities.

I think all Cavalier owners should look into getting their dogs to become therapy dogs -- Cavaliers have so much love to spread!! I have signed up Ginger for obedience training as our first step. I must say, that she and I have a loooooooooong way to go as Ginger is plain "crazy" (haha okay I'll admit that I have a huge contribution in that). The speakers pointed out a number of areas that you need to pass in order to become a therapy dog, and out of 10 things you need to pass, Ginger can only do one thing so far (which is to be friendly with strangers). So we'll just have to see how this goes. :xfngr:

Anyways therapy dogs do so many wonderful things and sometimes perform true miracles that no science can explain --- I hope my Ginger will be ready to do that someday.

By the way, speaking of licking, they said that the therapy dogs are trained NOT TO LICK the patients for sanitary purposes. Not that the dogs are unsanitary, it's actually the opposite. They are concerned that the patients may have biohazard substances on their skins and that the dogs who lick may be exposed to illnesses caused by them.

Before I heard this DH and I frequently talked about how Ginger would be a wonderful therapy dog because she is a heavy licker (I told her she's American but she thinks she's French), but I guess that is not a necessary feature in becoming a therapy dog!

I look forward to when Barkley is old enough to be a therapy dog. He is SO good with people. I take him as many places as I can, and he has been exposed to people in wheelchairs and on crutches and he doesn't flinch, everyone is his long-lost friend. One time at the dog park an older lady was scraping her walker on the ground, a less than lovely sound, but Barkley went right up to her to give a cheery hello. :luv:

hi there , both my dogs where p.a.t dogs, pets as therapy dogs
sadly tarmac is no longer with us and guinness has retired
but we used to vist old people in there homes and our local old folks home
both dogs realy enjoyed it ,these dogs are great at it probually cos of all the fuss they get