Yesterday, Astrid and her dog, Sky, came to visit the first and third grade gifted students. Sky is hypoallergenic and is part poodle, part Shih Tzu and part ANGEL. He is a therapy dog who goes to hospitals to cheer up patients, young and old. He usually ends up making the hospital staff members feel better too. Astrid explained to the students that it is not easy to become a therapy dog. Sky had to pass some tests, such as being able to refrain from barking if she walked away and left him in a room with strangers. He also had to be able to get along with other dogs. Astrid explained that the hardest test for Sky was to be able to see a hot dog lying on the floor and walk past it without trying to eat it. She said she spent a lot of money on hot dogs during Sky's training.
Therapy dogs can really make a big difference and do a lot of good. Astrid told us about one woman in the hospital who would not talk to anyone. Not even her doctor or nurses. But, when Astrid put Sky on the patient's bed, the woman was so happy she started talking again. Another time a man in the hospital refused to open his eyes. He would not even open them to see his wife when she was there. But, when Astrid put Sky up on his bed and he felt the dog with his hands, he opened his eyes. Everyone feels better when they see Sky and as you can see in the photos, it's a win-win. Sky loves getting all the love and attention you get on the job as a therapy dog. |