Dr. Mikey, Therapy Dog

Dr. Mikey, Therapy Dog

Our dogs bring us solace and no matter how we feel or how ill we may be, the dog is the one animal that can swim across the psychic moat and trot right inside our heart and soul. They intuitively know us in a way humans cannot given their special sense about our psychological and physical needs. The clinical literature on dogs as agents of healing is vast. Boris Levinson, an American Child Psychiatrist, coined the phrase pet therapy in 1964, following observations he made when he began to use his dog, Jingles in his sessions with severely withdrawn children. I could write a book on this subject since my dogs have always been my co- therapists since I spend the majority of time working in an office in my house learning from many of my canine colleagues invaluable insights. One woman who my English Setter, Willard adored came in one day and would not stop berating herself for not being a better mother and hoping she had not made irreparable mistakes after a nasty divorce. Willard stood by her chair and the more she criticized herself, he would bat her with his paw until it became so noticeable that she asked me, Why Is Willard hitting me with his paw? I found the scene quite amusing and knew at some point given Willards persistence batting her every time she spoke of her lack of self worth that my client who also owned two English Setters would finally break down and notice his peculiar behavior. I replied, Willard loves you and by the tone of your voice knows you are being very unkind to yourself. He will not stop communicating through physical action until you stop your self criticism. At first, my client looked at me in disbelief and could not believe that Willard was communicating to her despite his usual position on my couch upside down with all four legs straight up in the air. I always knew sessions were going well when he went to sleep in this position alerting me that he felt relaxed about how well the session was progressing and I could do all the work. Today was his work day and despite my comment, the client continued to list all the things she felt she had done to break up her marriage and damage her child. With each comment, Willards physical reminders became more pronounced, and although he would never hurt her, he made sure she knew her berating herself would result in a quick paw smack to her closest thigh. Obviously, we were not making any progress as she continued to describe herself as the most consummate failure of a mother in this century. I asked her if we could talk about the impact of the divorce on her son without her harsh and angry critique to see if Willard would stop his disruptive and insistent pawing. She agreed and began to express deeper feelings about her fear about her sons welfare and her rage at his fathers lack of attendance to his sons needs. As she explored deeper issues affecting her mood, Willard went back to his cozy position on the couch and finally fell into a deep peaceful sleep. As I said, examples of my dogs as therapists are numerous and like Boris Levinson, I had an experience with a child who was selectively mute. She stopped talking to adults although occasionally she would speak to her very few friends. Again Willard came to the rescue. If children were ever afraid of dogs, this would change after meeting my sweet, loving and dopey looking partner. At first, my little client would only talk to Willard telling him about her shyness and pain of isolation in her family and in school. It was amazing how open she was with him completely ignoring me without a greeting or a goodbye. I was the conduit in which she could speak because of my intuitive and very special dog. The most poignant story involves my dog Mikey who you see in his photo looking depressed and in a deep state of despair. For many years, Mikey was a therapy dog working with children on the Oncology Ward at Children’s hospital. He has a staff badge with his cute freckled face that says, this staff member must be admitted to the hospital at all times. The only thing he lacked was a beeper or cell phone that would alert him to the condition of the forty kids he related to in the recreation room every Monday. It is amazing how intuitive this breed is. I have been told that bird dogs have amazing memories since they must remember where that bird was when it was time to do their dog work. There were times in the intensive care unit that Mikey would point the whirling machine that looked like a bird and we explained that although he seemed human, he also was bred for another purpose. Mikey knew how to selectively relate to each child. For those that were frightened he would simply sit quietly in front of them until they felt comfortable petting him and for many who called him Freckles he would lie on their laps and be allowed in their rooms to comfort them when they had a difficult day due to chemotherapy or the ravages of their disease. The kids were troopers. They were brave, rarely complaining and always in great spirits on the day “Freckles” visited them. His pictures were all over the walls of the unit and with the help of a child, we made a coloring book of Mikey so the kids would have their own special drawing of him on the days when other therapy dogs would arrive. Mikey knew every child in the recreation room and if one was missing, he knew he or she had passed over what was referred to as the rainbow bridge. He would come home despondent and would not eat for two days after the loss of one of his kids. One evening I got a call that a young boy requested that Mikey come to his bedside at Childrens Hospital. He was seven and had told the doctors and his parents that he knew they had done all they could for him and there was only one living creature that could help him now, Mikey, his precious red haired freckled friend. He told his doctors sensing he would not make it through the night that he wanted to hold Mikeys paw until he passed over to the other side. In graduate school I had a close friend who worked as a Psychologist on a Cancer ward and wrote her dissertation on the dreams of children who had Cancer. She was urgent to change the policy not to tell children they were dying. This disturbed her greatly since she recorded their dreams that reflected that they knew they were dying and would not live much longer. If Elaine could hear the doctors and parents whispering in the halls, she knew that the kids also could hear the grim news. Until the regulation was changed, the children who were not told had a much harder time dealing with their disease and having the opportunity to pass away in a more peaceful way. Kids know these things and it is a disservice to be untruthful since what is imagined can be much more difficult to handle, especially when children are all alone knowing the truth about their fate. Elaine was the only one who talked to them about their illness learning about their fears and noting the difference in their behavior when the no tell policy existed. Due to the open policy of childrens hospital, Mikey’s little boy was able to call him for assistance and as he was asked, Mikey held the small boys hand throughout the night until this brave child eased into a coma and died early the next morning. Dr. Mikey as he is still referred to never moved knowing how important he was and although he could not change the length of his life, there is no doubt he made his death very peaceful with the tender touch of his warm paw that also helped the parents deal with the grief of losing their beloved child. All proceeds of this photograph will be donated to the wildlife rescue operation in Australia.

Dr. Mikey, Therapy Dog belongs to the following groups:

! Inspired Art !, " You Big SOFTY", All Pets Great and Small, All Soft and Cuddlies !!, All Things Poetic, Artistic, Philosophical, Animal Kingdom, B&W - Character - People Shots, Black and White Photography, Cats and Dogs (1 artwork per day), Current Issues, Dearly Departed, ImageWriting (2/24), Mans Best Friend's (Dogs only), Mood & Ambience - Strictly Photos, Our K9 Friend 1 image a day (Dogs only), Perspectives, Rescued Pets, Unconventional Artistry - 3 per day and Who Needs Color For Beauty? - Black & White Art At Its Best Available for sale as

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