Humans have had a very special bond with dogs for a very long time. Archaeological findings have dated this bond to be older than 10,000 years!
These days, besides being house pets, you’ll find dogs in a number of therapeutic settings. Therapy dogs visit sick patients in hospitals, work in schools and universities, in prisons, and attend at scenes of great tragedy and crisis. Most of us have seen dogs acting as service animals as well. They are guide dogs for the blind, police dogs, help people with mobility, and can even warn people of an imminent health crisis. Pretty amazing!
Aspen and Romy are two sweet golden retrievers who are therapy dogs in my private practice. You can choose to have one of them sit in on your session. Just like other therapy dogs, they bring comfort, calm, love, and connection to my patients who would like to interact with them. Many people look forward to their visits with them and remark that they feel less anxious and more grounded petting them or having one of them at their feet.
There is no pressure to have them in the room with you. If you have allergies or just aren’t a dog-person, a dog will not be present in your session.
