We have been visiting a teen treatment facility for over ten years. They went through a few changes and new management and we had to take a break around Covid. But we are back and it has become two distinct facilities sharing the building. So we have several therapy dogs that resumed visiting in the residential behavioral hospital. They spend time with the teens and do a great job. I bring Charlie and Buddy on different days. The other part of the facility is for acute assessment. These kids are not known as well to the staff and each visit can be totally different. I am the only volunteer in that unit thus far and have brought both Charlie and Buddy. The consensus seems to be Buddy is the right dog for the job. Here are some photos with Buddy in both units. Today he started learning to read and really listen. The kids loved reading from our new books and could pick a dog to read about. They knew lots of the dogs and thought that was great fun. Then Buddy takes a little break and we go into the other wing. Today was especially moving as even the toughest kids wanted to have Buddy in their lap. In this unit we sometimes only stay fifteen minutes but today we were there about an hour. This is so rewarding. This type of therapy work is not for every human or pet but we love it and know we truly made a difference at the end of the session.
suegrundfest
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