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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Debbie Strobel recalls the training it took for her spaniel mix, Lexi, to be registered as a therapy dog, and that the most important lesson, Lexi already knew.
She and Lexi visit people in hospital beds and wheelchairs -- people who brighten at the chance to hug Lexi, and some who can't move enough even to pet a dog.
No matter a person's physical condition, Strobel says, Lexi "doesn't see anybody as different from anybody else."
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (bit.ly/1OORmjX ) reports she and Lexi visit United Cerebral Palsy of Arkansas' Adult Centers in Little Rock and North Little Rock, and the Veterans Administration Hospital (aka Fort Roots) in North Little Rock.
"It's not just volunteer work," Strobel says, after 12 years of experience with therapy dogs. "I consider this a mission. And it's a blessing for us, too."
Years ago, she happened to see a therapy dog in a hospital. Impressed by the cheer they brought, Strobel wondered if she and her boxer-greyhound mix, Juliet, (her dog before Lexi), could work the same magic.
The question led her to Therapy Dogs International, headquartered in New Jersey -- and to the answer: yes.
The 40-year-old nonprofit agency counts nearly 25,000 registered therapy dog and handler teams. It points them to places where just the sight of a dog might be the best thing that happens all day.
Contact with a friendly dog is good medicine for many health conditions, TDI boasts. It can lower blood pressure, sharpen alertness, decrease anxiety, lessen a person's awareness of pain. If nothing else, the visit is "something to look forward to."
A therapy dog is not as highly trained as a service dog, a seeing-eye dog, for example. But TDI registration requires a dog of good nature and basic obedience skills, plus a proven and tested set of doggie talents unique to therapy work.
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WAGGING TALE
A therapy dog must learn to move easily around wheelchairs, canes and walkers, and to disregard sharp noises, such as a kitchen tray crashing to the floor. A therapy dog knows better than to eat anything off said floor. A therapy dog is good with children, patient with elders, ready to go.
The dog's job is to be seen, petted, scratched behind the ears -- what a doctor might call stimulating the patient's visual and tactile senses, or what Therapy Dogs International calls "making pleasant memories."
Strobel sums it up: "The idea is that it's supposed to bring comfort."
Juliet fit the prescription, but Strobel lost Juliet to an illness. Lexi was a 6-month-old pup rescued through Helping Hands for Little Paws in need of a home.
Already, Lexi looked smart and loving, the makings of a therapy dog, Strobel says. "And she's kind of a smiley dog. She seems to be smiling all the time."
People ask what sort of dog Lexi is, exactly -- a spaniel-collie mix? Strobel could say Lexi is registered with the American Kennel Club as an "all-American dog, and we like that." But she has an even better response: "She's perfect."
Some 10 years since earning her credentials, Lexi has won highest-level awards from Therapy Dogs International and the American Kennel Club for making more than 500 visits to hospitals, United Cerebral Palsy centers and other places where dogs are more than welcomed. At the adult centers, especially, "you see the same people over and over," Strobel says. "You build relationships with them."
The North Little Rock center celebrated Lexi's 10th birthday by adding the dog's name to those of other celebrants on the bulletin board.
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that impairs movement and coordination. The North Little Rock center provides employment and job training through its on-site company, Ultra Cartridge Products. Clients work at refilling and recycling ink cartridges.
"You know you're making a difference, even if you're not communicating in the usual sense," Strobel says.
Volunteering is a deep commitment for her. She is also state coordinator for Moms in Prayer, part of an international ministry that prays for children and schools.
Naturally, she expects as much from her dog. And not just Lexi. New to the North Little Rock home of Strobel and her husband, Michael, is a yellow Labrador-type second dog named Ditto.
Lexi might need a break one of these days. Thirty minutes on the job is the length of an average visit, but 30 minutes is enough focused attention to wear a dog out for the day, Strobel says. Besides, Lexi is an award-winning agility course contender. A dog named Ditto, after Lexi, can't just sit home.
"I hope to get her certified as a therapy dog next year," Strobel says of Ditto.
More information about Therapy Dogs International is available at tdi-dog,org; about United Cerebral Palsy of Arkansas at ucpark.org; and about Moms in Prayer International at momsinprayer.org.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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