Vanessa and Holly. Vanessas puppy is not just an ordinary puppy :) I asked Vanessa how Holly became part of her family. As a psychologist I work with many people, including children and adolescents, who find it hard to talk about challenging things; like emotions, themselves and behaviours that other people find challenging. I strive to help people to feel safe when they talk to me and I have learnt through working with people with disabilities (including children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders), that sometimes animals can help to facilitate conversations. Consequently, I decided to take on a colleague - Holly, the Golden Retriever. She is still a puppy and learning every day and I am still learning how to help her, but our goal is for her to be a Therapy Dog. Already she has helped individuals in counselling; to feel more comfortable, to have someone to talk through and to receive physical touch from. She has already proven to be an asset and after her week at Lead The Way training school, in July, she will be an Accredited Therapy Dog. Hopefully by then she will stop chewing everything in sight!!!
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 05:09:45 +0000
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