Therapy dogs offer a helping paw for people

MILLBROOK — “I wanted to find a way to work with people and give back to the community. I could not go into a hospice room alone but when you go in with a dog sometimes words are not necessary,” said Susan Fireman, executive director and trainer of Canine Links in Millbrook.Canine Links is a not-for-profit organization that pairs people and their dogs as trained teams who become certified to work as volunteers in different facilities, giving back to the community. Canine Links was started by a group of local individuals who had the time, energy and passion for therapy dog work and wanted to start a local organization. They did so six months ago and have already graduated 12 teams — that number is growing as more and more organizations use their services. Canine Link teams serve organizations in the Hudson Valley, Manhattan, the Berkshires, Litchfield County and elsewhere in Connecticut. Entities that receive their services are called “partnering facilities,” and include places like Cardinal Hayes Home and School for Children, Alden Place Elementary School, the Fountains of Millbrook retirement community, Northern Dutchess Hospital, Geer Community Center, Noble Horizons, Columbia Memorial Hospital, Central Berkshire School District, Southern Berkshire School District, Dutchess Community College and Vassar College.How Canine Links works is that anyone 16 or older with a dog of any breed between the ages of 6 months to 12 years could potentially be a Canine Links volunteer. Fireman has and will train and certify all types of breeds, from chihuahuas to German shepherds to pit bulls. She does a temperament test before the humans and dogs can join the organization. Therapy dogs must have a good temperament, she said, because they work with a range of personalities. Once the temperament test is completed volunteers and their dogs can enroll in a six- or 12-week training course. Classes in Millbrook are held at Center for Veterinary Care. Classes are an hour long and once a week. The six-week course is $250 and the 12-week course is $500; 20 percent of the dogs at Canine Links are on scholarship, which is available for people with financial hardship.Once the dog has graduated and is certified from Canine Links, everything done with the dog is tax-deductible if connected with volunteering.“Our teams work with the school psychologists, special education teachers and help the children integrate into the schools when they have emotional difficulties,” said Fireman. “These dogs receive a lot of good training when they graduate; they are certified because certification implies training.”Canine Links makes sure all facilities are safe before sending in their volunteers. Fireman matches teams with facilities to ensure they are best suited for a particular facility. Alden Place Elementary School in the Millbrook Central School District has four canine teams that work with children with reading issues. The special education teacher selects the books and the children who work in the program. Canine Link teams work once a week in the school district and are supervised by the principal.“The handler comes in with the dog and the child will sit on a bean bag and read a special book to the dog [rather than the class] and the handler ... will help the child depending on what the child’s needs are.”Fireman said that in a Newsweek article she read children’s reading scores go up an average of 90 words a minute, to 140 words a minute, when the child reads to a nonjudgmental presence, like dogs. At Dutchess Community College and Vassar College, Canine Links has been asked to bring teams in during exams to help students deal with stress. Canine Links is also on call with Columbia Memorial Hospital’s hospice service.At Southern Berkshire School District Canine Links works with children with disabilities.“Our team works with some kids with real disabilities where the adult and dog may walk around the school with the child,” Fireman said. “Other children in the school come over to pet the dog and the child with special needs gets to share their special friend with other children. Helping the child to have a sense of feeling special and accepted in the community of the school is important.”Some partnering facilities with children with special needs will have Canine Link teams come in once a week and the dog will become the class mascot. Children are sometimes able to teach the dog tricks, groom the dog, talk with the dog and work with the dog. Fireman said this contact with therapy dogs teaches children about empathy and sharing. Cardinal Hayes Home and School for the Children was recently added to Canine Links’ list of partnering facilities. “These children have multiple disabilities and dogs have a way of reaching out in a way that humans can’t do,” Fireman said of the teams that work with Cardinal Hayes.The president of Canine Links is Mark Condon, who is a biology professor at Dutchess Community College. Condon’s dog, Dutchess, is a well-known therapy dog who works with people with autism. Condon said that studies show that children with autism spectrum disorder who work with autism assistance dogs have shown improved safety at home and in public, improved motor skills, reduced anxiety in children with reduced parental stress and improved social interactions. In 2011 Dutchess had surgery to remove both of her eyes. Dutchess’s blindness and ability to work with people with autism has made her an inspiration to many. Fireman said Canine Links is fortunate to have Condon as its president.Fireman has been a dog trainer for 20 years. She began to look for ways to work with her dog because she said she wanted to do some good in the world. After reading about therapy dogs Fireman was inspired. Fireman took her German shepherd to Columbia Memorial Hospital and did hospice work there with her dog for three years. She and the president of Columbia Memorial Hospital, Jane Ehrlich, were the first therapy teams to go into a New York State hospital 16 years ago. According to Fireman it’s been rewarding, and she encourages others to consider it. She said for those who love dogs and the idea of helping people it’s the perfect way to volunteer. Those interested in getting involved with Canine Links should go to www.cltherapydogs.org or call Fireman at 855-595-4651. To find out more about Therapy Dog Dutchess go to www.dutchessthetherapydog.com.