This page is being designed to give our families that have trained their dogs for Therapy work a "spotlight" page on our website. Many families have worked very hard with their dogs to achieve this status. Keep up the good work everyone. This page will be updated as information is sent to us!
2010 Last year, fifteen year old Shana Coffey, along with her mom, Ellen, and their Landmark Labradoodles, Hershey
and Beauty, started a Pet Therapy program at the Village for Families and Children, in Hartford, CT. Once a month, they spend time with three different groups of children, who are either receiving behavioral health treatment or experiencing short-term placement as the result of abuse or neglect. Interacting with Hershey and Beauty allows the children to experience the
happiness that dogs can bring to our lives, and also teaches them gentleness and caring. In addition, the visits are therapeutic for children who may be missing the pets which were part of their lives prior to placement at the Village.
Shana explains that many children begin a visit shy and reserved, but by the end they are laughing and playing with the dogs, grooming them, or just sitting and spending time with them. On one visit, Shana recalls “There was a little boy who was just sitting apart and not interacting with the
group, but when I began to have the children walk Beauty with me using a second leash, he started to seem more interested. He then said that he wanted to try. He took the leash in one hand, put his other hand on Beauty’s back, and walked the entire path just like that. By the end of his turn he was smiling and giggling. He returned his leash to me, went to stand with his sister, and she was smiling too. It made my day knowing that I could bring that kind of joy to children whose lives have been filled with more than their fair share of hardship.
A member of a local organization called Tails of Joy, Inc., Shana took a series of training classes with Beauty, passed the required testing, and became a registered Pet Partner with the national Delta Society at the age of thirteen. A year later, she tested and became registered with
Hershey as well. A life-long animal lover, Shana is dedicated to her pet therapy work and hopes to one day pursue a career in veterinary medicine. But she knows that she couldn't possibly do what she does without her best friends, Hershey and Beauty. Both have proven to have all the qualities necessary to pet therapy work, including intelligence, trainability and a joyful and gentle temperament.
and Beauty, started a Pet Therapy program at the Village for Families and Children, in Hartford, CT. Once a month, they spend time with three different groups of children, who are either receiving behavioral health treatment or experiencing short-term placement as the result of abuse or neglect. Interacting with Hershey and Beauty allows the children to experience the
happiness that dogs can bring to our lives, and also teaches them gentleness and caring. In addition, the visits are therapeutic for children who may be missing the pets which were part of their lives prior to placement at the Village.
Shana explains that many children begin a visit shy and reserved, but by the end they are laughing and playing with the dogs, grooming them, or just sitting and spending time with them. On one visit, Shana recalls “There was a little boy who was just sitting apart and not interacting with the
group, but when I began to have the children walk Beauty with me using a second leash, he started to seem more interested. He then said that he wanted to try. He took the leash in one hand, put his other hand on Beauty’s back, and walked the entire path just like that. By the end of his turn he was smiling and giggling. He returned his leash to me, went to stand with his sister, and she was smiling too. It made my day knowing that I could bring that kind of joy to children whose lives have been filled with more than their fair share of hardship.
A member of a local organization called Tails of Joy, Inc., Shana took a series of training classes with Beauty, passed the required testing, and became a registered Pet Partner with the national Delta Society at the age of thirteen. A year later, she tested and became registered with
Hershey as well. A life-long animal lover, Shana is dedicated to her pet therapy work and hopes to one day pursue a career in veterinary medicine. But she knows that she couldn't possibly do what she does without her best friends, Hershey and Beauty. Both have proven to have all the qualities necessary to pet therapy work, including intelligence, trainability and a joyful and gentle temperament.
