More of Our Dogs
Tobey is a cocker spaniel with a background in Elementary Education. His "mom," Deborah Goessling, explains:
In 2003, Tobey was a stray living on the playground of an elementary school in Corinth, MS. He was picked up by the Humane Society and eventually put up for adoption. He was estimated to be about 2 years old.
I first saw Tobey on Petfinder.com. I had recently lost a cocker to old age, and I kept visiting the site, telling myself I was "just looking." I had never adopted a dog before, and I hesitated to get a dog with an unknown background.
But when I saw Tobey's face, I fell in love! Every day, after work, I'd check to see if he was still there. Finally, I put in an application and was approved immediately. The Humane Society expressed relief that someone finally wanted Tobey. They said black dogs aren't as popular as others. But I saw Tobey as the canine version of Black Beauty.
Before Tobey, I was too shy to enjoy volunteer work and too scared to compete in front of crowds. Tobey brought out my inner "social butterfly" and gave me the courage to enter obedience and agility trials. He's also my personal trainer on 2-mile runs. He supported me through cancer treatments, and I supported him through a paralyzing ruptured disc. We both recovered, and our respective doctors pronounced us fit, so after a hiatus from therapy-dog work, we tested with TDInc. and joined WTTD.
Tobey and I have resumed our R.E.A.D. work at the Central Library, something we did for many years in the past. Tobey has a special place in his heart for kids. I believe the kids at the elementary school kept him alive when he was homeless, and now he's paying them back by helping a new group of kids learn to read!
Contact Deborah via West TN Therapy Dogs He is a Pomeranian approximately 6 years of age, and is a friend to everyone he meets. He loves attention but is very calm and rarely barks. Linda previously owned Papillons and trained them to compete in agility competitions. She enjoys the sport, and hopes to return to it one day with the right dog. However, all dogs have different personalities, and as soon as Jack came into her life, she knew that he would make a great therapy dog. Linda cannot wait to share Jack with others and hopes that he will bring as much joy to other people as he brings to her family every day. Contact Linda via
After arriving in his new home, he continued to excel. Not only was he very easy to train and eager to please his new owner, he was always very considerate of other dogs. Joiku is a Finnish Lapphund, a breed that is rare in the US, but quite common in Northern Europe. He came to the US as part of a breeding program designed to help establish this wonderful breed here, so he grew up around several other Finnish Lapphunds. He loves other dogs, and he particularly loves puppies. He is always willing to play with puppies and smaller dogs, and is very gentle with them.
In his prime, Joiku had an outstanding career as a show dog, earning his Championship in Canada and his Grand Championship in UKC shows in the US, along with a Best in Show. He complimented these beauty awards with an obedience award - a Rally Novice title.
Joiku has extended his gentleness with other dogs to also include people. He particularly loves young children and older people. Becoming a Therapy Dog was a career choice that he made and he is very happy in his work. He loves meeting new people and is always willing to be petted!
Contact Linda via
Maxx E. is the epitome of a gentle giant. He is a very laid back quiet dog that loves to be petted and brushed. He loves children but most especially when they are laying on the floor watching T.V. This gives him an opportunity to cuddle up next to them and remind them to pet him with an occasional "pyr paw". He gets along with all dogs but has a warm spot for the little ones, the smaller the better.
Peg was familiar with therapy dogs and had toyed with the idea but her other dog is rather old and a bit of a grouch - Bentley just didn't have the personality for it. As she got to know Maxx E. and his gentle soul, she realized he had the personality to work as a therapy dog and he would love doing it. He has made a few trips to visit Peg's father at his nursing home. When he goes to visit everyone wants Maxx E. to stop in to seeing them. He will oblige in his quiet gentle way every time. Peg and Maxx E. look forward to sharing their time with others who could use a smile and a big furry head to pet.
Contact Peg via
Bessie is a 20 month old Wheaten Terrier born in Nashville, TN. She was the only female in a litter of eight. While Bessie is not a show dog, both of her parents are champions. She loves to play in the water and to be petted. She also loves to play chase with other dogs. Bessie is always in a cheerful mood and brings joy to those around her.
For several years, Ansley has been working with pet therapy teams at Le Bonheur as part of her volunteer work. It became a natural to train Bessie as a therapy dog.
Contact Ansley via
After qualifying with Therapy Dogs Inc., Penny and Jan started out visiting at a local elder care facility. This was followed by adding R.E.A.D. to their skills. Now Penny and Jan visit the local Main Library on Saturday afternoons. Recently they added a Hospice to their repertoire.
Jan says, "I have enjoyed writing for a hobby, and have been fortunate enough to have been published in the Shetland Sheepdog Pacesetter. My Therapy Dog article for that magazine was called "Paws For Smiles", and detailed the steps needed for a handler and dog to become a Therapy Dog Team."
"Recently, the Hospice we visit requested me to write the text for an article about Therapy Dog work at their facility. That was called, "Her Name Is Penny", and outlined the ways a Therapy Dog team can relax the situation for both families and patients in Hospice. On Saturday, 1/21/2012, we arrived at the Main Library to do our R.E.A.D. work there, and were met by a photographer from the local newspaper, the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The result
appears below."
Penny is the star of the team, Jan is her chauffeur. "So many friends and family of our clients take photos, it is as if we are on a Red Carpet in Hollywood!!"
To contact Jan and Penny, email Jakewas a therapy dog for a short while at St. Mary's Hospital in Michigan before we moved to Olive Branch, Mississippi. Jake has been a therapy dog for just over a year in Mississippi. He very much enjoys his visits on Tuesdays and Thursdays at St. Jude's Children's Hospital. He is just finishing orientation at LeBonheur Children's Hospital and will be starting supervised lobby visits soon. Jake's buddy is 1 year old golden retriever, Zeke whom he has a tug of war with daily over their bones, balls or frisbee's. Larry is hopeful that Zeke will follow in Jake's foot steps and become a therapy dog with TDInc also and will also join WTTD.
Contact Larry via
They moved to Memphis almost 3 years ago. Luciana got interested in therapy animals due to Olly's personality. Olly got her registration as a Therapy Dog in April, 2010 with flying colors. They visit St Jude Children%u2019s Hospital. They are also certified in the READ Program so they can go to visit libraries. Luciana is also fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and will use this in her READ work with the children.
Olly's favorite pastimes are: visiting parks around Memphis specially Overton Park, hiking, swimming and traveling. Olly has been to Coney Island, Atlanta, New Orleans and Grand Canyon.
You can contact Luciana via
Click on photo for larger image
Linda and Jack are a new team registered through Therapy Dogs Inc, who are looking forward to getting started. Jack was adopted by Linda in 2009 through Guardian Angels Pet Rescue.
Joiku has been a world traveler since an early age. He was born in Finland and flew to the US with his new owner, Linda, when he was only 8 weeks old. He was a perfectly behaved baby on the plane, never whined once and kept his carrier clean, even through the 9 hour overseas flight. After being checked over by customs, followed by a greatly appreciated trip to the little grassy area at the airport, Joiku settled down to play with a toy in the passenger waiting area while he waited for the last leg of his journey. Again, he was so well behaved, he drew compliments from the other passengers.
Congratulations to Linda and Bruce, a Finnish Lapphund who recently won best of breed at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in
New York.
Maxx E. is a Great Pyrenees rescue from the Memphis Animal Shelter. When he was pulled from the shelter in 2009 not much was known about his past other than he was very underweight and heartworm positive. He spent his first summer with Peg going through heartworm treatment and learning how nice a warm dog bed and two daily meals are. Since then he has accepted his fate as a spoiled, well fed and loved family pet.
Ansley is originally from South Carolina and is a graduate of Brenau University in Gainsville, Georgia. She moved with her husband of 21 years to Memphis in 1996. Since that time she has been a volunteer at Hope House and Le Bonheur hospital. Last year Ansley was nominated for mid-south volunteer of the year for her work at Hope House.
Jan knew she wanted to do Therapy Dog work for years before she was actually able to do it. Once she retired, she had the time but not the dog. Luckily she found Penny, a retired show dog, given to me by Helen Hunt of Mill Creek Shelties.
Danielle Dyer (right), 8, reads "Marley Goes to School" to Penny, a 9-year-old Shetland sheepdog at R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) event on Saturday at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. Fabian Marzette Jr., 3, reaches to pet Penny as Penny's owner, Jan Wertz, watches. The program is designed to help children read.
Jake is a 7 year old golden retriever, with a spunky attitude and a love for frisbee's. At 8 weeks it was love at first sight when Larry purchased him from a breeder in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Olly is a 7 year-old Basset Retriever (Basset Hound x Golden Retriever) from Peekskill, NY. Since an early age, Olly has been a wonderful dog, always wanting to please everyone with her bubbly personality. She visited Central Park, NY a couple of times where Luciana, her Brazilian owner, would drive down to the Big Apple on weekends just to meet people and other dogs.
