Therapy dogs in Moncton bring comfort and happiness one cuddle at a time
CBC
Sue Williamson of Therapy Tailblazers in Moncton says she's not sure who enjoys therapy dog visits the most — the people they visit, the volunteer dog owners or the dogs.
"It's a win-win for everybody," she said.
Therapy Tailblazers is a therapy dog group that visits nursing homes, daycares, schools, universities and hospitals in the Greater Moncton area.
Williamson's been with the group since 2014 and co-ordinates eight to 10 site visits per month in her role as a committee member.
On Tuesday, the group visited a daycamp in Dieppe.
"The kids are really appreciative of having pets coming here. It's really rewarding for them," said daycamp educator Sylvie LeBreton.
She said the dogs bring calm to kids with anxiety, and help them feel proud and happy.
One of the Tailblazers visitors was Tulugaq, a standard poodle, with her owner YoAnne Beauséjour Beauchamp.
Beauchamp said she always wanted to have a therapy dog. She worked in the school system in New Brunswick and Nunavut for about 30 years, and said she always wondered why there weren't dogs in schools.
She said even as a puppy, it was clear Tulugaq was a natural.
"She loved everyone and any age people," she said, adding that Tulugaq brings "a sense of calmness" to classrooms.
"It's definitely very rewarding to me. Every time I do any visit, doesn't matter if it's at the senior residence, or wherever we go. It's rewarding," said Beauchamp.
Therapy Tailblazers dogs all go through an evaluation to see how they behave in different situations. For example, some dogs don't like a lot of attention, and if a dog is aggressive with other dogs, it can't pass the evaluation for safety concerns, Williamson said.
She said many of the dogs tend to be large or medium-sized, like Bernese mountain dogs, Newfoundland dogs, and goldendoodles, because often those breeds are more calm and children really like them.