My Christ Led Journey with Dogs

  Hebrews 10:24  And let us consider how we can stimulate one another to love and to do good works.

   I have been around dogs my entire life. One of the most meaningful close relationships I had with a dog was with a rescued Standard Poodle our family took in when I was a teen. I named him Rafferty, and he was my best friend. We found out after we took him in that he had been abused in his previous home and was fearful of most men, including my dad. It took a while for him to not pee on my dad when he came in the house after work. Rafferty and I were inseparable.

    As time went on, I met the man that is now my husband. I knew he was the right guy for me because my dog went to him for comfort while we were having a party at my house. He sought out Dave to keep him safe.

   After we got married and started our family, I went back to school to become a nurse. I spent many late nights studying, always with my dog at my side.

   As the years went by, we said good-bye to Rafferty. He lived to be 12 years old. We always had at least one Standard Poodle, sometimes more in our home as pets. Being a mom and wife as well as a hospital staff nurse took up most of my time.

   We changed states and moved to Wisconsin in 2002. It was a major upheaval for our kids. I found a job working pediatrics and Mom/Baby, and eventually NICU. My favorite unit was always Pediatrics. A little over ten years ago, we started to see an increase of teenaged kids in mental health crisis. Some had lost a parent or friend to suicide, some were from broken homes, some were in abusive situations, and some were addicted to substances. All were so sad and disconnected. I wanted to provide comfort that a staff nurse just can’t to help them. That’s when I decided to become a therapy dog handler.

    I shared this with my sister. She is a clinical psychologist, and at the time ran a prisoner dog training program in Kansas. Not long after, she called and told me about a dog in her training program that was up for adoption. That dog became our Bentley.

   Bentley had been through a family divorce, rehoming, being given up again by a different family member, and then spent 2 ½ months in a medium security prison. He was the saddest dog I have ever seen. Many troubled teens can easily relate to the struggles he has overcome.

    It took about 6 months of regular meals, positive -rewards, training and bonding before he was ready to test for therapy dog certification. We passed with flying colors!

   My boss at the time let me start a therapy dog program at the hospital. It took about 9 months to get things going. I had to become a hospital volunteer in addition to working there. In the meantime, we visited nursing homes in the area to keep our skills up to date. We also visited the daycare center our daughter worked at with active 2-year-olds, but my goal was always to get him in to help teens.

  Another 9 months went by before we finally stepped foot into the hospital. Witnessing the difference his presence made to the kids and staff there was life changing for me.  He can sense emotional pain, and provide comfort by putting his head on their lap for petting.  We visited monthly to the inpatient pediatrics unit and made a difference. After speaking to the head psychiatrist several times, we were invited to the adolescent day treatment program. A small group of teens spend part of their days with other teens with similar challenges, trying to learn healthier ways to deal with their emotional pain. Bentley has a special talent with these kids. When a kid is disconnected, he puts his nose under their hand and flips it up. That is sure to get their attention. Some kids need a good cry, and he is there for that as well. He has been the support dog for suicide talks, has been present for an Honor Walk, and has supported hospital staff for death debriefings. His presence has helped hundreds of people over the years.

 He has also made two trips to Kimberly High School, and has even been in our son’s wedding. He wore a tuxedo scarf and gave emotional support to anyone in need.

  A couple of years ago, we brought a puppy into our home after we retired. We spent many hours training him together. As a result, I now have a second certified therapy dog. My husband Dave and I take “the boys” to visit a local nursing home where he too has seen the difference that the dogs bring to the residents.

 Bentley is getting on in years and it will soon be time for him to retire. Dave has decided that he would like to continue going on visits, so we needed to expand our dog population again.

  Our current project is training the newest member of our household to be Dave’s therapy dog partner. Crystal is a one-year-old Golden Retriever pup that we hope will allow us to fulfill our goal of doing therapy visits together after Bentley retires.

  What could be better than this?  Many people over the years have approached me to ask how do you train a dog to be a therapy partner, and how do you find places to visit? I did some research and talked to the testing/observer that certified us for Alliance of Therapy Dogs. There isn’t a guidebook on how to get started independently, and if you aren’t familiar with the way facilities work, getting  set up can be a daunting matter. So, we came up with a project to help these individuals, a training program at Winnegamie Dog Club. We taught our first Therapy Dog Boot Camp over the winter so that others can start their own journey with confidence. The one thing better than seeing the difference your dog makes for others, it training others to carry it forward and expand the process. Our goal is to bring smiles and joy to others with the help of our dogs.

If you have questions about the dog therapy program, please contact me at david.zeka@sbcglobal.net

Joann Zeka