# Unofficial Therapy Dog??



## UConnGSD (May 19, 2008)

Anybody who sees Wolfie would not call him the most well-behaved dog by any means. He is opinionated and acts like a crazy puppy most of the time. BUT, he is so incredibly sweet with this one mentally disabled teenaged boy who is our neighbor. I have never seen anybody outside of his family even talk to this boy and he doesn't feel too comfortable around people anyway. Now Wolfie plays soccer with him, lies down on the grass with him to be petted, shakes his paw, gives him googly eyes. I have learned to leave the two of them alone as the boy seems to go back in his shell when I am present (but VERY slowly less so). This has been going on for a few months. But today I noticed something. Wolfie had been out of commission for a week as he got neutered. Today we got the green light from the vet to resume his normal activity. So he was allowed into the backyard by himself for the first time in a week. The boy was outside and he broke into the biggest grin that I have ever seen on him and just ran to Wolfie. I had never seen the boy smile much before let alone grin like that. It made me feel so good that crazy Wolfie (nemesis of so many neighborhood dogs) has one neighbor whom he has made enormously happy. This got me wondering whether there is such a thing as a therapy dog for *active * disabled teenagers. I know from Wolfie's interactions with this boy that the boy much prefers the running around crazy Wolfie as opposed to the sedate calm one (which is probably the epitome of certified therapy dogs, which I don't quite think Wolfie will be). And the interesting thing is that this boy's parents are both afraid of dogs and the boy himself had never interacted with a dog before Wolfie, let alone a rambunctious GSD. Also, his mother has told me several times before that watching her son and Wolfie play soccer beats the most interesting TV any day in her opinion. This is a very very mini bragg when compared to the titles our friends win but I just had to mention this as it was so heartwarming for me.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

What a wonderful story. 

I have a son on the autism spectrum and he was part of the reason our rescue matched us up with Clover. She mentioned she has done several placements in homes with autistic children and the dogs seem to sense the difference in the child and form a special bond. My son connects with any dog he meets no matter where we are.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

I have never seen a better bragg actually. What a great dog Wolfie is! I bet the socialization experience is great for Wolfie too. Thanks for sharing.


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## Pedders (Mar 22, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: BridgetI have never seen a better bragg actually. What a great dog Wolfie is! I bet the socialization experience is great for Wolfie too. Thanks for sharing.


Absolutely. The titles, CGC's etc are great, but the affect that Wolfie is having in this young man is beyond compare.


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## UConnGSD (May 19, 2008)

Awww.. thank you so much! I actually had tears in my eyes today when I saw the two of them play after one whole week.


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## AnnaRiley (Feb 14, 2008)

That's wonderful. I was asked to do a home visit for a local rescue several years ago. When I contacted the young woman, she told me that she was still interested in the dog from the rescue group that asked me to do the HV, but she had gotten word that there was a golden retriever in a shelter nearby that she was also interested in. Something inside told me to tell her to look at that dog first before I came to do the HV. 

She called me back that afternoon crying and telling me that she adopted the one at the other shelter. She said, you see my son is autistic. He does not speak and will not let anyone hold me. She said when he saw the dog his eyes were so bright and he let the dog stretch out across him all the way home, and she said he will never allow anything to be placed in his lap.

Go Wolfie!! You take care of that young man.


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## lucymom (Jan 2, 2009)

Wolfie needs no titles to be a hero and a therapy champ. They come in all sizes and shapes and the most unexpected packages. This young man will have these amazing memories of Wolfie always and the joy Wolfie brings him is a gift beyond measure.

I had a sweet white Shep, Dweezil, who could find a sad or disabled child in any room or playground that had one, and go sit with them and become "their dog" for however long he was there.

Boy, can we learn good stuff from the dogs or what?

Jd


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## Skye'sMom (Jul 11, 2004)

Great job, Wolfie!







What a great experience for them both. We learn a lot when we listen to our dogs and trust them.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

What a wonderful relationship for both of them!









Rafi is an unofficial therapy dog here in my neighborhood. There are a lot of folks who are pretty down and out. Some of them don't even talk (at least to people) but they LOVE Rafi. They talk to him, pet him, etc and he wiggles around and around them with his ball in his mouth. He does not discriminate and loves everyone. 

We can learn a lot from these dogs!


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