Sadie & Sheryl

How a community manager and her pawtner in crime make people’s day.

By Ryan Kwon, Communications Manager

When visiting her mother at a nursing facility, Eugene Burger Management Corporation’s senior community association manager, Sheryl Kaonis-Rochon, CCAM, saw how frustrated and unhappy she was. That changed after a visit with a therapy dog. Seeing how happy a therapy dog made her mother, Kaonis-Rochon began the process of finding a dog and becoming certified as a therapy dog handler.

“After seeing the amount of positive reactions therapy elicited from my mother and the other residents, I just thought to myself, “I’d love to do that for other people!” she said.

Kaonis-Rochon has worked in the community management industry since 2000. Like most people, she fell into the job. When she was hired at her first management company, she didn’t even know what an HOA was. Six years later, she achieved her CCAM certification. She’s remained in the industry for 22 years.

We recently learned about Kaonis-Rochon’s volunteer work with her therapy dog, Sadie, and asked her more about it.

How did you meet Sadie? Did you have any pets prior to Sadie?

Whether it be cats or dogs, I always had pets growing up. In fact, I was eight years old when I first owned a dog.

Back in March 2016, I found my perfect therapy dog partner: a-fourmonth-old, parti coat, standard poodle named Sadie. Even though I got her for the main purpose of being a therapy dog, many people would be surprised that I got her from a generic breeder rather than one that specializes in therapy dogs.

A little fun fact, most people think that poodles are fashion French, but the word poodle derives from the German word, pudel, which are hunting dogs.

What was the journey like in certifying Sadie as a therapy dog and becoming a certified therapy dog handler?

Becoming a therapy dog handler took a lot of hard work, from both Sadie and me. The very first step that I took before being certified was signing up for the American Kennel Club’s “Good Canine” class. There were a standard set of behaviors that Sadie had to master before receiving her “Good Canine” certification.

Some of these behaviors included: accepting strangers, sitting politely for petting, walking on a loose leash, walking through a crowd, sitting, staying, coming when called, reacting appropriately to distractions, and supervised separations.

While Sadie eagerly trained right away, I also did some training of my own with a private trainer, because I wanted to start our therapy visits as soon as we could. The classes that Sadie and I took were a challenge because Sadie was still very much a puppy, and if there were other dogs in the room, she would just want to play with them. So, our biggest hurdle was to learn how to differentiate play time from work time.

Our first supervised visitation session took place at the VA hospital in San Diego through a volunteer program called “Love on a Leash.” Before Sadie could fly as a solo therapy dog, the program required a minimum of 10 supervised visits. In addition to our prior training, Sadie was enrolled in the Scripps Hospital evaluation process, and that took six months to complete.

For the Scripps Hospital evaluation process, Sadie had to complete various tasks such as walking alongside someone with a wheelchair or IV pole, seeing how she would react if a loud noise were to occur, going up elevators, and seeing if she would snack on a treat if I were to leave the room. Best believe that the treat evaluation was the most difficult to pass.

With all the classes, training, and evaluations that Sadie and I had to pass, it took nearly 2 years for us to become officially a therapy dog and therapy dog handler.

What are your hospital visitations with Sadie like?

As soon as I put on her vest, Sadie knows it’s time to work. It’s like she becomes a completely different dog. Even though Sadie can be rambunctious when she plays and has a lot of puppy left in her, she has a really great understanding of what the people she visits need - whether it’s putting her head in their lap or giving them a gentle kiss, Sadie’s your girl.

I remember a visitation that Sadie and I had with a gravely ill, elderly patient, and the facility let us know beforehand that the patient had specifically requested a visit from Sadie. The patient couldn’t sit up, could no longer see, and had a really difficult time breathing, but as soon as she patted Sadie’s head, a peaceful smile appeared across her face and a tear ran down her cheek.

Something like that could really make you feel wholesome and make your day, knowing that you’re responsible for the happiness of people and the good that you’re putting out in the world.

What’s the difference between a therapy dog and a service dog?

The simplest way to break this down is that a therapy dog can only go to places where it’s invited, and a service dog can be taken any place where they’re assisting a person with a disability. A few examples would be like a seeing-eye dog, a guide dog or a dog that’s been trained to detect their owner’s high blood pressure.

Since Sadie provides therapy to everyone she visits, does she provide therapy for you?

Of course! Fortunately, I have the freedom to take her to my office, walk in sites, and board meetings (if permitted by my board). She’s just a moral boost to have around, and the greatest thing about having Sadie around is that she helps me a lot when I encounter angry homeowners, because as soon as they meet her, their anger immediately dissipates into friendliness. Even outside of her therapy visitations, Sadie makes everyone around her happy.