Comfort Corner: Pickle!

By Marilyn Davis

My 16-month-old golden retriever, Pickle, has not gotten my memo about my plans for her future as a therapy dog. I’ve had other certified therapy dogs –  goldens – who met the brief: “Velcro” affection applied liberally to everyone they meet. Pickle, however, so far, doesn’t warm up that quickly to strangers. She spent her first year on a ranch with dozens of dogs and one human. She’s dog-crazy but cautious at first with people before she transforms to the goofy, gooey golden that people love in therapy situations. For example, last week at Home Depot Garden Center, a grandmother, shopping with her granddaughter, squealed, “Oh, a golden retriever!” and came right at us, bending down, arms stretched toward Pickle, who backed away and stayed behind me, a typical response right now. Awkward. On the other hand, at the coffee shop, with children she meets regularly, and on other repeat visits, she is transformed.

This column I write is about comfort given on therapy visits, but dogs need comfort, too. So I’ve switched things around and started listening to my dog. This is a core principle of PT, to pay attention to our dogs to determine what suits them best, what will make them most comfortable.  And it may not always be what we planned for them.

Pickle loves greeting people she already knows, so rather than meet-and-greet therapy, it makes sense to explore options that allow for her to re-visit people, perhaps in hospice situations rather than hospital visits. Or, even better, the type of goal-directed therapy that PT offers, where she would repeat visits to special needs students at Abraxis High School, for example, or assist active-duty service members with PTSD in PT’s military programs. I need to adjust to her needs.