September Letters
Southwest Canine Corps of Volunteers
9/30/03
Recently, Pam Dickerhoof, the Volunteer director at Lovelace Hospital, nominated SCCV for an
award! And SCCV was the winner of The “Volunteer Program of the Year”! We thought you
might like to see just a portion her nomination. It is because of the tireless efforts of every
one of our members that this award was presented! Thanks go to Pam for this wonderful recognition
for our group.
Southwest Canine Corps of Volunteers
Imagine yourself in the hospital or a nursing home: you are lonely and shut off from the real
world. It would be easy to become depressed and sad. Suddenly there is a knock on your door - a
very nice volunteer asks if you would like a visit from a therapy dog. In comes a furry friendly,
happy, four-legged canine volunteer and smiles erupt from everyone in the room. Laughter and love
arrive with each pet therapy visitor.
This is the scene that takes place many times a day in hospitals and nursing homes in the
Albuquerque area thanks to Southwest Canine Corps of Volunteers. These wonderfully trained dogs
bring happiness and spread cheer as “canine goodwill ambassadors.” This unique program
of pet therapy volunteers is an outstanding example of volunteerism at it’s finest.
Tears turn into smiles when the dogs arrive to visit. Staff members flock around to get their
own puppy love. The staff in our facilities are stressed and need pet therapy, too. (Besides, they
are usually more "mobile" and get to the dogs first, usually with a treat!)
In the hospitals they often stop in the waiting rooms to visit with the families. The family
members who are waiting for a loved one to come out of surgery are very stressed as well. Their
children are often bored and cranky, and a visit from a dog really brightens up the room.
One resident in a nursing home always told the same story. "Oh, I just LOVE dogs! When I was
a kid, mama always......" This resident enjoyed telling the same story over and over, for at least
3 years. She took a trip down memory lane each time a dog came into her room!
Pet therapy volunteers have seen comatose patients begin to stoke the head of the dog when their
hands were placed on the dog. Later, they have remembered the visit and wondered how the dog came to
the hospital!
We in the Albuquerque area are truly lucky and blessed to have such an excellent and efficient
pet therapy program. I agree with Debbie Miller, current Southwest Canine Corps of Volunteers
Trainer: “When I’m sick, I hope someone can bring a dog to visit me. When I’m old
and can no longer have a dog, I hope someone will bring a therapy dog to my bed.”
Four Great Therapy Dogs
9/30/03
I had taken each of my four dogs to visit my husband when he was in hospice care the week before
he died this past May, and the staff were enchanted with each of them. That crystalized a thought
I'd had off and on for years - having gotten obedience titles on them all, maybe they could pass
the necessary tests to become therapy dogs.
Then I learned that the trainer for my puppy's intermediate obedience class was one of the two
people in the area who certified therapy dogs. A phone call, observation visits for each of my
canine kids, and we are now providing loving therapy for me, the dogs, the patients in the nursing
homes we visit, and the staffs. Talk about a win-win situation!
|