Dog therapy best medicine

Her clients suffer all kinds of physical ailments. Many have Alzheimer's. Most are lonely.

But when Petra the therapy dog makes her rounds, elderly occupants of Live Oak Manor forget their troubles, and smile.

"She'll stand still for anything," said Father Thomas Batch, 86, during Petra's visit to his room Thursday

Batch has very little sight left, but he could feel the soft, thick fur, and make out something of Petra's compassionate gaze.

He moved his wheelchair slightly, the better to reach his cheese sandwich so he might feed some to the quiet, gentle dog.

"They dote on her, they really do," said Petra's owner Kathleen Morris of the facility's appreciative residents.

Morris, 69, and Petra, 5, have been visiting the Live Oak facility every Thursday for the past year. They travel to at least seven nursing and residential care facilities each week.

"It changes everything (for residents)," said Live Oak Manor Activity Director Cynthia Terrell. "When Petra comes in, the timbre of their voices change. She brings back pleasant memories for them."

The black, 50-pound Belgian shepherd performs her service on a volunteer basis, but her qualifications as a therapist are professional, and impressive.

She graduated at the top of her obedience training class, according to Morris, and has been certified by a national therapy dog registry. To earn such accreditation, Petra had to prove that she will not jump, bark, bite or scratch anyone, even in the presence of loud noises, crowded hallways, and patients who sometimes lurch unexpectedly.

Petra was honored by the American Red Cross for her work in 2007.

And though she stays on a tight leash here, alert to her owner's commands, back in Browns Valley she gets to run free on 12 acres.

"At home, I let her be a dog," Morris said.

Morris said she has tried to encourage other dog owners to go through the certification process and help their canine friends become pet therapists.

She circulates literature about the program that she and her own dog went through.

But to her knowledge, she said, no one in the area has followed Petra's lead.

Several wheelchair-bound residents took time Thursday to speak at length with their canine visitor. Petra listened patiently to every one of them. She shook hands when they said, "hi," and accommodated efforts to reach her for some petting.

"I've never seen her in a bad mood," said Terrell, reaching down to stroke Petra's head. "She loves what she does."