Travel Tips

Carmen, Zoe and Angus are all certified therapy dogs under the auspices of Delta Society, an international organization whose local affiliate is National Capital Therapy Dogs. Additionally, Carmen and Angus are certified with Fidos for Freedom, an independant non-profit out of Laurel, Maryland. After passing the rigorous tests admisistered by these groups, they are authorized to visit hospitals and bring cheer to sick people and their families.
Therefore, twice a month, two of the dogs accompany Kevin and Andrea to Johns Hopkins Children's Center, which provides living space for families who have traveled from afar for care at the prestigious hospital. This brings great joy to both the dogs, the children and especially their parents, who are freed from the stress of worrying for an hour. Below are a record of some of our therapy dog experiences, though we can't show pictures of any of them out of deference to the patients and their families. Additionally, in order to protect their privacy, all patient and family names have been changed.

One of the patients loved the dogs the most was Bridgette, who was born with several birth defects and seemed to have spent most of her 12 years on earth undergoing surgery to have them corrected. Priorities being what they were, the primary focus of her surgeries had been on the limbs and cosmetic surgery that would have improved her facial appearance had not yet been done -- probably a looming issue and worry for the parents of a girl who would soon be interested in boys.
Still, Bridgette was always in good spirits when Carmen and Angus showed up and she appeared to forget about the hand that she had been dealt. One giddy day, she decided that she wanted to walk Angus around the room, so I hooked her up to his collar and off we went. Soon, in her excitement she started to run, and galloped towards her mom.
"She's running!" exclaimed Mom.
Oh no, I thought, maybe she shouldn't be running.
"We've been trying to get her to rum for MONTHS!" Mom continued joyfully. "Thank you so so much!"
My first emotion was relief and my second thought was to say a proud "You're welcome!" But the n I realized that Mom was down on her kneees nose to nose with Angus. She wasn't thanking me -- she was thanking the dog!

While Carmen will go for walks with the children, her primary skill is just lying around. This seems to be what whippets are bred for (though most squirrels and woodchucks will disagree), which is just perfect for the therapy dog business. Whenever we leave Carmen home, the regular children always ask for her. They love snuggling, hugging and, most of all, dressing her. Carmen is ever tolerant and always forgiving.
Whenever we make a therapy visit, we bring a photo album full of Carmen's dress-up pictures (most of which can be seen elsewhere on these pages). This is useful in entertaining both children and parents when the visitors outnumber the dogs (which often happens -- there are almost never enough therapy dogs). These photos seem to have an almost mesmerizing effect on young girls. Maybe that's because Carmen is really a princess enveloped in a canine's body.

Carmen's other skill is being willing to get dressed up. She is extremely tolerant of children putting clothes on her -- an excellent trait for a therapy dog. During our last visit, for example, we met a cute ten-year old girl who had a condition the resulted in her hands being curved under her arms at the wrists -- rendering them practically useless. She had already had corrective surgery on one and was awaiting surgery on the next, and in the meantime she was supposed to use her hands. Luckily, she loved dogs and can't wait to be able to care for one so she can have one. So to exercise her hands, we let her dress Carmen. This was difficult for her, but she perservered -- even though it meant slugging Carmen in the nose twice. To her everlasting credit, Carmen never flinched and always remained calm, allowing the girl to successfully put a hat on her head and a boa around her neck. Everyone was pleased!