November 2006

Rissa and I completed our Therapy Dog Inc certification and made our first 2 visits to a local hospital. This was my first glimpse and validation of my hunches - that Rissa had a truly natural ability for therapy dog work. We entered the patient care unit and immediately encountered a upset, crying 2 year old little girl. She came up to us, Rissa sat down, she stroked Rissa's ear like a security blanket, sucked on her pacifier, Rissa kissed away her tears and within 2 minutes she had forgotten why she was upset.... (she had bitten her tongue)... "Doggie" she repeated and smiled! We made many other visits that day - but, I will always remember our "first"...