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Therapy Pets of the Red River Valley Bringing People, Pets, and Wishes Together

lene Cohen-Pearson, president of Therapy Pets of the Red River Valley, owns two cats, three dogs, and an African gray parrot. “We’re at the legal limit of animals,” her husband joked. Pearson laughs and bends down to pet Marley, the gray and white, blueeyed dog at her feet. “Marley is a rescue dog,” Pearson said, “When we found her, she was feral. And she’s deaf.” Marley looks up at Pearson and wags her tail, looking around. “Marley is wondering why we are here. She thinks we should be going over to the other people and greeting them.”

As members of the Therapy Pets of the Red River Valley, Marley and Pearson get out together often, going to nursing homes, schools, and the library. “The first time Marley and I went to nursing home, she brought so much joy to the residents. My face hurt from smiling so much!”

The group started in 2003 and now has about two dozen members, each with one or two certified pets. They meet as a group once a month to discuss the places they will visit.

“People want Therapy Pets to visit them, but we don’t have enough members,” Pearson said. “It’s fairly uncomplicated to be certified. We’d love to see the program grow!”

Therapy Pets of the RRV is part of the national Delta program. “Being part of Delta gives us the benefit of a million dollar liability coverage when volunteering,” Pearson said. Study groups for pet certification are scheduled twice a year. Owners work through a training manual and practice together. After the training, Therapy Pets RRV sets up practice times and a mock evaluation at Red River North Obedience School. The practices include wheelchairs and volunteers who walk by with odd gaits or drop treats that pets must walk past – in a real setting it might be a pill. Pets are evaluated for their friendliness with strangers and with other dogs.

When the pets have finished training, they are tested locally by Tony Bach, who is qualified to certify the animals. Bach has certified both dogs and cats, and she certified two miniature horses near Bismarck. “Last year we had six dogs in our certification study,” Pearson said. “And all six passed.” The international group Delta has certified dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, chickens, and guinea pigs.

After certification, therapy visits begin under the guidance of a mentoring program. Mentors go with newly certified pets and owners to their first visits.

Therapy Pets RRV currently make visits to the Fairmont Nursing home in Moorhead; Waterford, Bethany, and the VA hospital in Fargo; and into several public schools. One Saturday a month they go to the Fargo Public Library and help out with the PAWS for Reading program. At Longfellow School they work with developmentally disabled children during the school year, and a summer program for developmentally disabled adults has recently been added to the growing list of groups who would like Therapy Pets RRV to visit them.

Working with handicapped children is great,” Pearson said. “The interaction gets the kids moving physically. The