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TEN YEARS OF SMILES and they called it puppy love Local therapy dogs have been providing comfort for 10 years
Spiritkeepers therapy dogs have been comforting hurting people in the Fredericksburg area for a decade now. Anniversary celebration points the way for another 10 years of service.Date published: 9/29/2006 Brown dogs, yellow dogs, black dogs, white dogs. Goldens, Labs, greyhounds, schnauzers. More than 50 dogs lounge around the room, lifting noses for pats and thumping the floor with their tails as passers-by lean over to scratch behind their ears. These are therapy dogs, trained to cheer the sick, comfort the bereaved and listen uncritically as novice readers stumble over unfamiliar words. The occasion is the 10th anniversary of Spiritkeepers, a chapter of Therapy Dogs International, and a surprise tribute to Sue Peetoom, the organization's founder. "If you and Lee had not decided to do this, none of us would be here. We wouldn't have met these wonderful people, shared these wonderful experiences," says Linda Damiano as she presents Peetoom with a scrapbook filled with photos from a decade of canine caring. Lee Peetoom, Sue's husband, also has been involved in the organization. Therapy dogs are not service dogs that help the handicapped. Their function is, as their name implies, therapeutic. Kim Fraser, owner with her husband of two therapy dogs, cites studies that show the dogs lower blood pressure and increase pain-reducing endorphins, as well as getting people's minds off their troubles. Spiritkeepers grew out of something that happened when Peetoom was visiting her father in a Bowling Green nursing home. The wife of another patient asked if a dog could visit her husband, who was in a coma. When they put his hand on the dog's paw, the man squeezed it and tried to stroke it. It was his first response in three weeks, and the beginning of his recovery. "I'll never forget that," Peetoom said at the anniversary celebration. "I had heard of therapy dogs before, and I thought this was something I'd like to do." She soon connected with Therapy Dogs International, a volunteer organization dedicated to providing comfort and companionship to hospital patients, nursing home residents and other places where they can make a difference. Not just any dog can be a therapy dog. Cathi Allison explained the ideal temperament by describing her American pit bull terrier, Pumpkin. "She's mellow, not dog-aggressive, loves children, sits quietly. She's very intuitive. She loves everyone and everyone loves her." Intuition is a key ingredient, the dog handlers agree.
Date published: 9/29/2006
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