Where Are They Now?
Minnesota Therapy Animals
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Archives Our feedback suggests that our readers always enjoy these real life stories. Going forward, the site will archive Where Are They Now? |
Susan & Sophie, Partners for Violence Prevention Spring 2008
Ann & Kelsey Bryant, Pal on Paws, Summer 2008
Kathy & Ginger Treece, TD Inc. Fall 2008
Becky & Zoey Woodwinds Hospital Winter 2008
Melissa & Nova R.E.A.D. Winter 2009
Lisa and Abby Fall 2009
Richard & Dobbie Fall 2009
Ann & Kelsey Bryant, Pal on Paws, Summer 2008
Kathy & Ginger Treece, TD Inc. Fall 2008
Becky & Zoey Woodwinds Hospital Winter 2008
Melissa & Nova R.E.A.D. Winter 2009
Lisa and Abby Fall 2009
Richard & Dobbie Fall 2009
| Jenny & Karlos You DO make a difference |
Karlos and I started volunteering at Children's Hospital in St. Paul the fall of 2008.
We have been working with an occupational therapist, speech therapist and also
physical therapist. Karlos had his hardest challenge in the very beginning with a
little boy that has ADHD. Our goal was to get the attention span to last longer and
longer- we did it! When we started with this child it was hard to get him to finish a
task; and by the end he was able to set up an agility course for himself and Karlos
and finish it multiple times through. We had to do anything from combing Karlos to
sitting on the swing, jumping on the trampoline, and coloring. The hardest task was
to have the boy put Karlos' snowsuit and boots on- if any of you have a dog that
needs to wear these things you know how long it takes!
In speech therapy we worked with 3-4 kids at various parts of therapy. We helped
one little boy talk more by telling Karlos a story about his dog and then having him
read Karlos' picture book to Karlos. We had a longer relationship with one girl that
was over the 2 year time frame and we used Karlos as a reward for her doing her
speech homework. The therapist usually informed us of the words or letters they
were working on that week and we would come up with pictures that practiced those
words. Karlos certainly was able to take commands from any child at this point in
order to get the treats!
Our patient over the last year was a girl we met in November of 2009. She could not
even sit up when we met her. We would visit in her room and lay on the pillow next
to her so she could pet Karlos. The very first time we visited her Karlos and her hit
it off. We stayed in that room with her for an hour, just getting pets. As the weeks
went by we did many things with her. She was highly motivated by Karlos, and
Karlos was highly motivated by her! We painted Karlos' nails on Christmas Eve to
help with fine motor skills, Karlos had done some "finger" paintings, walked
numerous times through the hallways and also had been dressed in ALL of his
many outfits to help her move those fingers- there were snaps, buckles and Velcro,
not to mention putting them on a dog! Over the next couple of months we started to
see her as an outpatient with the therapist. One of the first few visits in outpatient
was to do exercises to get her stretched out. Many times she was on the exercise
ball and had to lean forward over the ball and pet Karlos, occasionally Karlos would
wear his vest and she would have to get the treats out of pockets that were also of
zipper, Velcro, snap capability. We used Karlos as a Do Not Squish model as well.
She was having a hard time in doing some of the exercises so we would place
Karlos in an area that if she were to not get up high enough Karlos would get sat
on- this was great motivation because she was never about to harm Karlos!
Currently Karlos and I are doing an "on-call" service for the therapist. In this she
can use us between the two hours we are there in visiting the waiting rooms. We
have been with a few patients so far. The first was a little boy that loves dogs and
we needed him to respond a little more. Well he certainly did- Karlos ended up
laying next to him on the bed and leaned up and kissed him on the chin. The little
boy smiled and then we proceeded to have tears flowing. Karlos always seems to
know when to do things! The girl we just visited had some issues with putting words
together faster, so Karlos stepped in. Our first job was to go for a walk around the
floors. We happened to come across another mom that was there and she was
asking me about Karlos and his breed; that is when the girl looked at her and said
"He is here to make my day!" We were all so touched by what she had said.
Karlos and I are having a great time in being a team and visiting; but it is even better
when you can help in therapy. Karlos has learned that all kids at Children's are
awesome and they love him as much as he loves helping them.
Jenny Langness & Karlos
We have been working with an occupational therapist, speech therapist and also
physical therapist. Karlos had his hardest challenge in the very beginning with a
little boy that has ADHD. Our goal was to get the attention span to last longer and
longer- we did it! When we started with this child it was hard to get him to finish a
task; and by the end he was able to set up an agility course for himself and Karlos
and finish it multiple times through. We had to do anything from combing Karlos to
sitting on the swing, jumping on the trampoline, and coloring. The hardest task was
to have the boy put Karlos' snowsuit and boots on- if any of you have a dog that
needs to wear these things you know how long it takes!
In speech therapy we worked with 3-4 kids at various parts of therapy. We helped
one little boy talk more by telling Karlos a story about his dog and then having him
read Karlos' picture book to Karlos. We had a longer relationship with one girl that
was over the 2 year time frame and we used Karlos as a reward for her doing her
speech homework. The therapist usually informed us of the words or letters they
were working on that week and we would come up with pictures that practiced those
words. Karlos certainly was able to take commands from any child at this point in
order to get the treats!
Our patient over the last year was a girl we met in November of 2009. She could not
even sit up when we met her. We would visit in her room and lay on the pillow next
to her so she could pet Karlos. The very first time we visited her Karlos and her hit
it off. We stayed in that room with her for an hour, just getting pets. As the weeks
went by we did many things with her. She was highly motivated by Karlos, and
Karlos was highly motivated by her! We painted Karlos' nails on Christmas Eve to
help with fine motor skills, Karlos had done some "finger" paintings, walked
numerous times through the hallways and also had been dressed in ALL of his
many outfits to help her move those fingers- there were snaps, buckles and Velcro,
not to mention putting them on a dog! Over the next couple of months we started to
see her as an outpatient with the therapist. One of the first few visits in outpatient
was to do exercises to get her stretched out. Many times she was on the exercise
ball and had to lean forward over the ball and pet Karlos, occasionally Karlos would
wear his vest and she would have to get the treats out of pockets that were also of
zipper, Velcro, snap capability. We used Karlos as a Do Not Squish model as well.
She was having a hard time in doing some of the exercises so we would place
Karlos in an area that if she were to not get up high enough Karlos would get sat
on- this was great motivation because she was never about to harm Karlos!
Currently Karlos and I are doing an "on-call" service for the therapist. In this she
can use us between the two hours we are there in visiting the waiting rooms. We
have been with a few patients so far. The first was a little boy that loves dogs and
we needed him to respond a little more. Well he certainly did- Karlos ended up
laying next to him on the bed and leaned up and kissed him on the chin. The little
boy smiled and then we proceeded to have tears flowing. Karlos always seems to
know when to do things! The girl we just visited had some issues with putting words
together faster, so Karlos stepped in. Our first job was to go for a walk around the
floors. We happened to come across another mom that was there and she was
asking me about Karlos and his breed; that is when the girl looked at her and said
"He is here to make my day!" We were all so touched by what she had said.
Karlos and I are having a great time in being a team and visiting; but it is even better
when you can help in therapy. Karlos has learned that all kids at Children's are
awesome and they love him as much as he loves helping them.
Jenny Langness & Karlos
| Jenny, Karlos, and Nicole |
* Comments: It's always a treat to get a
quick glimspe at where teams are and
what they are doing.... Here's an insight
provided by Jenny Langness. Enjoy.
quick glimspe at where teams are and
what they are doing.... Here's an insight
provided by Jenny Langness. Enjoy.