PAWS for Good

By Mary Alice Garrett

This story originally appeared November 10, 2011 in The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware.

Initially, Val Allen and Cathy Amick were afraid of students with autism. That was three years ago. Now the two women and their therapy dogs are a welcome sight at area schools and wherever autism programs are held.

The women and their pets are members of PAWS, which stands for Pet-Assisted Visitation Volunteer Services. The nonprofit organization provides pet visitation/therapy services to facilities and individuals throughout Delaware and parts of Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Both Louie and Dixie are rescue dogs. Louie, a Pekingese-Pomeranian, is one of eight rescue pets owned by Allen. Dixie, a Border Collie mix, is Amick's second therapy dog.

"It has opened my eyes to work with the these children," Amick, of Newark, said of the special classes for youngsters with autism at the Christina School District's Albert Jones School near Newark.

Recently, Amick and Allen made a joint visit to Jones and worked with students 8 to 10 years old.

"We use the dogs as a motivational bridge to help the children achieve their individual goals," said Allen, of Hockessin.

The two are convinced the therapy dogs motivate the children to communicate and to read.

"What we see is pretty amazing," Allen said of the dogs and cats they use. "We just follow their lead to know what to do."

Allen and Amick begin by having the youngsters feed carrots and dog biscuits to the pets. That is followed by petting and grooming. Verbalizing and reading come next.

"Louie likes to eat carrots. Do you want to give Louie a carrot?" Allen asked. All five children said "yes."

Next, Allen gave the dog commands. "Louie, sit. Louie down."

Soon the children were giving him commands on their own. Three boys took turns hooking and unhooking Louie's harness, which helped their motor skills.

Meanwhile, Amick introduced a curry comb for grooming Dixie's coat. She asked for volunteers to read the dog a story.

Several volunteered and received a sticker and a "high-five" from Amick.

Matthew Landon gave Dixie a "sit" command followed by an "up" command. The 9-year-old smiled broadly when Dixie stood up on her hind legs.

Rachel Peeples, 10, was the first to sign Dixie's "pawtograph" book. She also gave Dixie commands.

"Rachel's good on hand signals," praised Amick.

William Soriano, 8, sketched a picture of Dixie in her "pawtograph" book. It was so realistic the PAWS volunteers plan to reproduce it in their publication.

Teacher Sue Davis said she has seen improvement in the students' verbal and communication skills since the PAWS program began.

"I think it's good for exposure," she said. "The children practice some skills and don't worry about making a mistake. It's a motivator."

Allen and Amick are only two of 267 teams of pet volunteers currently at 113 different sites. The number increases almost weekly, said PAWS Executive Director Lynne Robinson.

It began six years ago with Robinson and her dog and Amick and her first therapy dog. They started appearing in area libraries and realized "struggling readers" seemed more comfortable reading aloud in classrooms with the pets as nonjudgmental listeners. Youngsters who refused to read for teachers suddenly were forming bonds with the pets and verbalizing for them.

"It's a dog. It's a person. And there's a special connection," said Robinson. "The dogs have a sixth sense about them."

The program has grown to include children with mental and physical disabilities; patients in hospitals, hospice and drug and alcohol treatment centers, and the elderly in centers and Alzheimer's facilities. The volunteers also visit with people undergoing physical and occupational therapy.

Recently, Allen started taking Louie along for her own chemotherapy treatments. The normally solemn patients are more communicative and smile whenever the dog is present, she said.

"They're not thinking about what they're hooked up to," Allen said. "It's a shot in the arm for chemotherapy patients."

Liz Steichen and her Tibetan spaniel, Paco, have seen some transformations also. One 9 year-old boy at the Brennen School in Newark was unusually hyperactive and not interested in reading until Steichen turned Paco over to him.

"When I give him the leash, he's totally focused. It's like a miracle," she said.