areawoman pets

kids are very excited. Even children who are completely wheelchair bound and can’t talk will be waving their arms calling their friends over. You totally make their day.”

“A lot of the dogs in Therapy Pets RRV are rescue dogs. We have mixes, whippets, American Staffordshire terriers, Labradoodles, little French bull dogs, Australian shepherds, collies, and various small breed dogs as well,” Pearson said. “We have one cat. And we have Marley, who is deaf. I use hand signals with her and it’s great for the kids to see it and realize it doesn’t matter.

It’s not a bad thing to be different.”

“There are couples in our group,” Pearson said of the volunteers. “We also have a mom and a son. It’s a great family activity. The common bond is animals and people. You have to love your pet and love to be with people. We have one 14-year-old boy who volunteers. It’s interesting to see teens going out with their pets into environments to help others.”

“At the end of the day it is so relaxing to take my pet and sit with seniors. When the tables are turned I hope there are people who will do this for me. You form bonds with the people. It’s a wonderful thing. You get to spend time with your pets and make people happy. Nothing could be better than that!”[AWM]

For more information visit therapypetsrrv.org