Casey’s Journey to Becoming a Registered Therapy Dog

When I adopted Casey, I had no idea what to expect or how to train a blind dog. I had no idea that a dog born without eyes could run circles around sighted dogs. . . literally!  Being a Border Collie with natural herding instincts, Casey always attempts to herd. Casey runs just as fast as any Border Collie and is amazingly aware of his environment.

I spent the first year training Casey in basic commands. It was difficult because I was so accustomed to using hand signals and eye contact; obviously neither of these worked with Casey.  I still catch myself using them when I give Casey a command. In the beginning I used a special touch or a sound (like a clicker) along with the command word and eventually phased out the touching and clicking.  Casey wasn’t very food motivated, but he loved to be praised. He associated the clicker with praise. After we got Archie, a sighted Border Collie, Casey finally discovered that treats were pretty special!

Casey was like a sponge and absorbed everything I did with him. He seems to have an uncanny and innate ability to understand what I want.  People always ask how I trained Casey. I never take credit for it; Casey is just a natural.

The first year of training I exposed him to all kind of things: hiking, biking, swimming, and meeting people. I even did agility to teach him how to navigate on his own in unexpected circumstances. Much to everyone’s surprise, he loved doing agility. He was even better than the sighted dogs in his beginner’s class!

Casey really trusts me.  He’s not afraid of heights, dark places (of course!) or the unexpected. He’s always on leash when he’s doing agility obstacles.  His safety always comes first. 

The instructor had never taught agility to a blind dog and was amazed how well he compensated.  It doesn’t matter what he tries; he always succeeds.

Casey loves people, and everyone who meets him seems to make a special connection with him.  Everyone kept telling me he should be a therapy dog because he was so special. 

One day at the dog park, Casey was running and playing with the other dogs when someone again mentioned that Casey would be a great therapy dog. One of the women exercising her dog at the park that day told me all about her experiences doing therapy dog work. She explained what was involved and how to go about getting Casey registered as a therapy dog. At the time it was late May. She said I should start the process immediately since I wanted to get involved in a reading dog program in our local school district.  That way we could train through the summer, get tested, and be ready to go by September. 

I went home that day and looked up the Therapy Dogs Incorporated organization (now called Alliance of Therapy Dogs) on the internet. I contacted one of their local evaluators and set up a meeting with her to find out what Casey and I needed to do to prepare for testing.  Much to my surprise, the evaluator said she did not think Casey needed any additional training and was ready for testing. Within the week Casey visited the skilled nursing area of a retirement community and passed the testing with flying colors. Casey was now officially a registered therapy dog. 

However, since I decided I wanted to work with children in our local school district, Casey also had to pass the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test.  Again, not being sure if Casey could meet the requirements of the test, I asked the evaluator to observe him beforehand to tell me how to prepare.  Again, I was told he was ready to test.

Within days there was a CGC test being administered, and Casey was just amazing! No one had any idea he was blind.  He went through the paces and came home that evening with his Canine Good Citizen title.

I then contacted Nor’wester Readers (now Nor’wester Therapy Dogs, Inc), the organization that places therapy dog teams in our local school district. At the time, I was unaware that one of the directors of Nor’wester Readers had been at the CGC testing and had seen Casey going through his paces. They were delighted to have Casey join their group and immediately placed him in the summer Public Library program that was to start in July.  Casey really got involved his very first day as you can see in the photo.  Reading seemed to be his thing!  That was six years ago, and Casey is still a regular at the Library.

​He visits nursing homes, works as an emotional support dog for children in a residential treatment center, helps children read and learn in area schools, and is a regular volunteer at the Free Library of Northampton Township in Richboro, PA.  He certainly is an incredible Wonder Dog!

How It All Began

A number of years ago when I was visiting my mother, she handed me a brochure about a dog therapy program. As soon as my mother saw it, she knew it would be something that would interest me.

Since the brochure was about a program in a hospital, I started investigating area hospitals.  I located a program through the volunteer office at Doylestown Hospital, and I started the process of becoming a volunteer in their visiting dog program.  At that time the training was a self-study program developed just for Doylestown Hospital. 

My dog Maggie was a very sweet, lovable Border Collie mix who could do just about anything. There were twenty-one things the dog was expected to do as a visiting hospital dog, from carrying baskets, picking up things, and just lying quietly.  Maggie loved to do all of them.  I worked with Maggie until I felt she was ready for testing. 

The day of testing she was fabulous except for the last task. Another dog entered the room, and she barked once. It was a friendly-greeting bark, but nonetheless it was a bark, which was an automatic fail.  Everyone was so disappointed, even the evaluator, but rules are rules.  So, we waited until the next testing a few months later and had the exact same results. A few months later we tried a third time. Maggie rarely barked and never barked at other dogs when we went for walks, but for some odd reason she must have thought she was supposed to greet others while she was in the conference room at the hospital.  Unfortunately, this ended Maggie’s opportunity to visit at the hospital. She would have been a great therapy dog.

Casey

​

Since we thought Maggie would be our last dog, therapy dog work became a passing thought. Then we fell in love with Casey, a Border Collie born with a congenital heart defect and without eyes.  It was love at first sight.  We thought he was the most amazing dog as he proudly walked down the steps to greet us for the first time. From that day on he became known as “Casey, the Blind Wonder Dog.”

​Shortly after he joined our family, my mother-in-law had a stroke.  So, the first few months we had Casey he spent every day at the nursing home with me.  When my mother-in-law would become agitated, Casey seemed to understand and would run to her side.  Blind dogs see with their hearts, and Casey intuitively knew that all she needed was a little love and comfort from him.  He was also very popular with the nurses and other residents. It became quite evident early on that Casey was a very special dog with a special job to do, and I needed to help him do it.  I wasn’t sure if he could officially become a therapy dog because he was blind, but I decided to find out. This was how our journey began. (to be continued next week)

Three years ago my life changed when my dog Colette and I joined Nor’wester Therapy Dogs.

We were assigned to a third-grade classroom at Thomas Fitzwater Elementary School in the Upper Dublin School District. My couch potato dog, a sweet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was now up and off the couch, and I was with a wonderful group of children and an amazingly creative teacher. Each week we worked on a different academic skill from telling time to reading fluency. Colette flourished in the classroom setting and walked more quickly each week to get to the children she loved.

Because Colette and I enjoyed our visits so much, this year we chose to be with two third-grade classes and a fifth-grade class. It is so impressive to watch the children’s academic progress and equally impressive to observe their social and emotional growth.

In one of my classes I have a student who is painfully shy, almost to the point of selective mutism. Initially, she would not speak in class or even in a small group sitting with Colette. As the weeks passed, Colette’s calm presence encouraged this child to speak and increase her volume as well. Since the beginning of the year, she always sits right next to Colette and pets her the entire time her group is with us.

Last month she read two paragraphs to all of us, and it was the first time it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Another girl in the group turned to her and said, “I love to hear you read because you have a beautiful voice, and we don’t get to hear it very often.” All the children in the group agreed.

It was one of the most amazing moments in ALL my classroom experiences. The teacher has since reported that the child is also having normal classroom interactions too!

Stephanie’s Story

What Carol says is true…I always wanted therapy dogs in my classroom! I used to teach in a zoo, and I have always had pets in my classroom. I was so happy when Carol, Violet, and Tex were assigned to my class.

I have always strongly believed that we can learn a lot from animals. Animals help to teach students responsibility, empathy, understanding, and since my turtle walks freely around the classroom, it also teaches them to be aware of their surroundings!

A big part of my school year is spent studying dogs. We read novels about them, we learn about therapy and service dogs, and we follow the Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. It seemed only fitting that I have therapy dogs visit my classroom.

I teach a typical 4^th grade class that also includes students that require learning support. It really has been amazing to watch the kids with Violet and Tex—especially the ones that weren’t too enthusiastic about having the dogs in to visit!

One boy in particular would never fail to mention that he prefers cats. He would ask if cats would be coming in, why we didn’t have cats visiting, and he always kept his distance when Violet or Tex would come in. Fast forward to this past week—the same boy now jumped up and ran to the door to give Tex a pet before he left!

The dogs have really transformed our class. There are always a core group of students who choose to read with the dogs. Some of them are great readers, and some of them are not, but they all get wonderful practice with reading fluency. Violet or Tex quietly listen and never correct them or judge them! The only thing they ask of the students is belly rubs. Especially Tex—he is never shy about sprawling out on the rug!

Tex especially has provided some great lessons for our class. The kids know that it is his first experience as a therapy dog, so they are understanding and patient with him. If he barks or gets scared, they know to comfort him or to let him know that everything is ok. They are also more mindful of things that might make him surprised or nervous.  It has become a great teaching/learning experience for the kids! Carol has been very open to new ideas and is always up for trying new things. She has been amazingly flexible with my crazy schedule. Our first year together is flying by, but I hope to try and incorporate the dogs into even more lessons next year. I feel so lucky to have Carol, Violet, and Tex as part of my team!

Carol Van Sant joined Nor’wester Therapy Dogs in 2018 and received her first assignment for the 2018-2019 school year. Carol was partnered with Stephanie Lucci-May, a Pennsbury elementary school teacher and ardent dog lover. Carol and Stephanie met for the first time at an introductory session in Stephanie’s empty classroom. It was both Carol’s and Stephanie’s first assignment. Both of them were a bit nervous and unsure of what to expect.  We thought it would help other newbies if we shared some of their experiences, and maybe spark some memories from those of you who have started volunteering already. Carol’s story appears this week. Stephanie’s story will be continued next week.

Carol’s Story

I finally retired in 2018 and was able to fulfill a dream of getting my two therapy dogs registered with Nor’wester Therapy Dogs in the fall. I love reading and believe literacy is very important, so this was a perfect fit. We were assigned to Stephanie Lucci-May’s 4^th grade class at Edgewood Elementary, and we were very excited to get started! Stephanie loves dogs and had been requesting a therapy dog team for her classroom for some time. Little did she know that she was getting a two-fer—two dogs instead of one.

Having the support of Lyn Bauer, Wendi Huttner, and Debbie Glessner in the beginning helped reduce my nerves. Stephanie’s interest, enthusiasm, and her preparation of her class for our initial visits helped even more. Stephanie and I really clicked, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner!

Violet, my yellow Lab, and I have been a therapy dog team for over 8 years, so she was no stranger to therapy dog work. I’m very confident in her abilities and the way she relates to others. She’s a happy girl and always enjoys giving affection. When we arrive on Monday afternoon, she wants to wander around and say “Hi” to everyone—including Stephen the turtle who roams the classroom freely!

For Tex, my yellow Lab/Great Pyrenees mix, Edgewood Elementary was his first therapy dog assignment. We adopted Tex 3 days before he turned 1, so there are things in his background that we can only guess at. He sometimes startles easily and will bark at weird things. Volunteering has been as excellent a learning experience for Tex as it has been for the students.

Tex is a big, goofy boy and enjoys getting attention. When Tex and I visit on Thursday afternoons, he likes nothing better than to wade into a group of students and lie down so they can rub his tummy. He really turns up the goof factor during our visit and the students love it!

It did take us a while to get started, but we are now a regular part of the classroom routine. We usually begin with a list of students who want to read to the dog. One of the students is the timer, and off we go! Amid licks, sniffs, and giggles, each student gets some reading done.

After individual reading time is over, Stephanie often works in some class activities with the dog. She did action verbs focused on the dog, reading a book to the class, and discussing empathy. One of my most memorable times happened with Tex. During individual reading time, a student accidentally shut the classroom door loudly, which set off a barking spree and a fear of the door. Stephanie’s lesson that day was on cause and effect. I can tell you that Tex was featured in many examples from the students!

To be continued next week . . .