Dog therapy comes back to the London Public Library after COVID.
Every Wednesday morning Londoners have a possibility to get a therapy session with a dog.
The therapy dogs program is a collective effort between London Public Library and St John Ambulance.
Cathy Miller and her dog Coco participate on a volunteer basis on behalf of St John Ambulance.
They are trying to rebuild the dog program. When I started in 2019 there were 78 teams. Now they’re down to 37. They lost to a lot of teams during COVID. We tried to do Zoom meetings, but it’s really hard for the dog, said Miller.
Cathy is a retired nurse and feels like it’s her duty to help people.
“When I retired my husband got sick. And he died in the first little bit of me retiring. And I thought that I needed to do something. And I want to volunteer,” adds Miller.
Coco is a puddle and a golfer retriever puppy and she gets really excited meeting new people.
“She is not a guide dog, she’s a therapy dog. Being friendly is a part of her personality,” says Miller.
“Coco is my third therapy dog. I am pretty strict with training, they should be friendly but still behave,” says Miller.
“We have a weekly commitment to a nursing home. Every Wednesday we normally go to Westmound Gardens. But because I’m doing this program once a week, they allowed me to go there on Fridays,” adds Miller.
Therapy dogs are great support for people of all ages, but especially for the older generation.
“All the patients are so happy to see her. I was afraid that they would not accept her help, but now I see how excited they are waiting for her visit,” says Miller.
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