Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Kukla
Dieter
If you’ve spent time at ALX Community’s coworking offices along the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, you may have noticed a lively, reddish-brown Vizsla hanging out with his owner, Elizabeth Kukla. The pup, Dieter, is more than just a beloved pet, he also works with Kukla as a therapy dog. He offers a monthly “De-stress with Dieter” event at the office.
Therapy dogs are not breed-based but behaviorally based, which means that temperament is most important when determining if a dog would make a good therapy dog. That being said, some breeds lend themselves better to the job than others because they have been bred to enjoy human interaction.
“If you specifically want to get a dog to do therapy dog work, I would pay attention to what breeds are in your dog because purebred dogs and mixes of purebred dogs are going to have traits of what they were bred to do, and different breeds of dogs have different tendencies and habits,” explained Kukla.
Vizslas like Dieter are bird-hunting dogs but are also known for being very friendly and people-pleasers. Kukla was inspired to train her dog to be a therapy dog after her sister did therapy dog work in Alexandria with her Golden Retriever.
One of Kukla’s main motivations to train Dieter was to visit people in nursing homes, which was her favorite place to take him prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of people in nursing homes ... a lot of times they will have to give up any pets that they have. The Alliance of Therapy Dogs — their slogan is ‘Sharing Smiles and Joy’ — and I think the most true place I’ve seen that is at a nursing home,” said Kukla.
The Alliance of Therapy Dogs (therapydogs.com) is one of two national organizations that can certify a dog as a therapy dog. The second is Pet Partners (petpartners.org). Kukla said both do great work, but she decided to go with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs because they have less dietary and other restrictions on their therapy dogs.
Dieter with Elizabeth Kukla
Kukla encourages owners interested in doing therapy dog work with their dog to start training them as young as possible. Puppies should get exposed to all kinds of people, places, objects and situations and should be taught basic obedience skills.
She recommends getting the AKC Canine Good Citizen program and test which is a good baseline. While training is not necessarily required, it helps a lot with passing the test to become a therapy dog, which includes testing on practical skills and three site visits. Once a dog passes the therapy dog test, dogs are required to do therapy work at least every three months, submit yearly vet records and a renewal form.
Kukla says that Dieter knows when it’s time to be in work mode. He has a special collar that he only wears when he’s doing therapy work. “When he sees that and you take him into a facility he is much more calm…it’s like something switches in his brain,” she said.
You don’t have to be a dog owner to contact one of the therapy dog organizations. If you are simply looking for a therapy dog to visit your school, nursing home or other place, you can reach out to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and they will connect you with a local therapy dog and handler.
Therapy dogs vs. service or facility dogs
Therapy dogs should not be confused with service dogs or facility dogs (which are a type of service dog) who perform an important service for an individual owner or are assigned to a specific professional health care, visitation or educational setting.
These dogs undergo intensive training from birth and are often bred specifically for that purpose. In fact, therapy dog handlers can lose certification for misrepresenting their dogs as service dogs. It is also a class 4 misdemeanor according to Virginia law.
Two-year-old Labrador/Golden Retriever mix Rylynn recently joined the Fairfax County Department of Family Services as a facility dog. Specifically, she works with children and families going through sexual abuse investigations. Rylynn was bred and trained by the non-profit organization Canine Companions® which provides service dogs, hearing dogs, facility dogs, skilled companions and assistance dogs for veterans at no cost to the recipient.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CANINE COMPANIONS®
Sam Carrico and Rylynn.
Rylynn and other Canine Companions® dogs are always Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers or a mix of the two and are bred by the organization in California. At 8 weeks old, the puppies are sent to live with volunteers who raise the puppies until they are approximately a year-and-a-half old.
Then, the dogs attend a six-month-long professional training program at one of the organization’s six centers located across the country. There, the dogs learn 40 commands and are taught to pull wheelchairs, open and close doors, retrieve items and other essential skills.
After the six-month training, the dogs attend a two-week long team training, where they are observed and matched with their recipients; the recipients then learn how to work with their dogs. Rylynn was matched with Samantha “Sam” Carrico, LCSW, who works with the Fairfax County Department of Family Services.
“So we got matched on the second or third day,” she said. “They had us all sit down on the floor with the dog bed and had different dogs rotate through. Rylynn is the calmest dog I have ever met and I think they just knew because of her personality she would be perfect for child protective services,” Carrico explained.
Rylynn has already sat in on an interview with a child victim and Carrico said that she automatically knew to go over to the child and get petted and then sat under the child’s chair. “You can definitely see the anxiety subside,” Carrico said.
“I think even just petting the dog…the dog is a great ice breaker to make the child comfortable. We can talk about the dog, what does the dog like to do? What do you like to do? Do you have pets? Especially for children that are young or are reluctant to talk, it is a great way to bond with them and get them talking.”
Rylynn will work with children through the lifetime of their case and be there for interviews and court appearances to support the child through what can often be a very traumatic experience.
Rylynn and Carrico will have to undergo continual training at various intervals — six months, one year and then every three years — to keep up their skills and maintain certification.
Canine Companions® maintains ownership of the dogs for as long as they are working, but Rylynn gets to live with Carrico as a pet when she isn’t working and enjoys swimming, walking and playing in her backyard.
She can’t go to dog parks because she wouldn’t know how to interact with aggressive dogs and the dogs are not necessarily vaccinated. Sometimes, she gets to have play dates with another facility dog, Virgil, who works at the SafeSpot Children’s Advocacy Center of Fairfax County.
Facility dogs like Rylynn usually work until they are 8-10 years old, depending on their health. When Canine Companions® decides that it’s time for Rylynn to retire, Carrico can decide to keep her as a pet or return her to Canine Companions®. Carrico emphatically confirmed that she definitely plans to keep Rylynn when that time comes!
What about emotional support animals (ESA)?
Emotional support animals do not require any training and simply require a doctor’s or therapist’s note. They provide comfort and support to owners struggling with a physical or mental health issue. ESAs used to be allowed on airline flights but recently many airlines have banned ESAs in the cabin including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.
