'He just loves to be around people': Therapy dogs resume visits as pandemic restrictions ease
CBC
It's been a "terrible" 18 months for Derby the therapy dog.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought many things to a grinding halt in March 2020, including the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program in Thunder Bay.
The dogs, which used to routinely visit places like long-term care homes and schools, had to stay home with the rest of the world. It stayed that way, with the exception of some outdoor visits, until earlier this year when four therapy dog teams were able to have their first indoor visit back to the Thunder Bay police station.
Sharon Wynn, Derby's owner, said the pandemic has been hard for the 10-year-old, 70-kilogram Newfoundland and huskie mix.
"Terrible, terrible," Wynn said when asked about what the last 18 months had been like for Derby. "When we started having outside visits he gave me so much attitude because that's not how we went to work.
"I think it makes them feel and good and I think all the extra attention they get helps too. He just loves to be around people."
A therapy dog is different than a service dog, said Jill Biggs, the coordinator of the Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario program.
"[Therapy dogs] have to be gentle. They have to like people. They have to seek attention," Biggs said.
"They're happiest when they go up to people and get to cuddle and get a pet with them. They're wonderful, outgoing dogs that want to share their patience and their heart with everybody else."
Verlie Breitsprecher said the isolation was also really challenging for her and her dog Reba, a 10-year-old poodle.
"It was really tough. I felt, and Reba as well, felt that we didn't have a purpose in life anymore. We sat around. We went and walked around in the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood wasn't enough. We visited family but that wasn't enough. She likes to get out and she's the ultimate schmoozer. She loves her job."
Biggs said the program had about 50 dogs in Thunder Bay and the region before the pandemic, but some have not been able to continue.
"The program has certainly lost dogs over the past 18 months," she said. A lot of the dogs, they're older dogs. If ones were 11 at the time the pandemic hit, then most of them have had to be retired."
Biggs said the hope is to have evaluations in the coming months to add new dogs to the program.
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