Anyone with a dog will tell you that a wagging tail can rouse even the most sad or cantankerous person. That is the idea behind the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program.
Amy Koza is a therapy dog handler with St. John Ambulance in Squamish. She takes her three-year-old Bernese Mountain dog Ossa to visit senior residents at the Shannon Falls retirement home a few hours a month.
“You walk in and people’s faces light up and they often start talking in these warm, comforting baby-like voices we all talk to dogs in,” said Koza. “You can see that they escape into this really lovely environment of animal love and you forget about everything else. They will often start talking about the dogs that they had.”
Ossa gets as much out of it as the humans, Koza said. “It is a two-way benefit. She goes in and all these people tell her she is beautiful and pet her,” Koza said.
“I think she is energized by it and looks forward to it. When I get her uniform out she knows what is happening.”
Ossa’s uniform is a St. John Ambulance bandanna, matching red leash and collar.
Koza said she is thinking of branching out to visiting palliative care patients with Ossa as well.
Not only do the residents and Ossa enjoy the visits, Koza said she too finds the process enjoyable and relaxing.
Last year, 541 St. John Ambulance handlers with 484 dogs logged over 43,000 volunteer hours in B.C. and the Yukon, according the charity.
The 900-year-old St. John Ambulance organization has recently launched a St. John Ambulance GiftsSETS fundraising campaign with money going to support the therapy dog program.
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