Stories

Most people expect to find certain things inside a funeral home. Flowers. Soft carpeting. Framed photographs. The faint fragrance of lilies. Voices lowered almost instinctively as people step through the door. They probably do not expect a dog. Yet therapy dogs are increasingly being used in funeral homes, memorial services and funeral planning meetings. It… Continue reading The Therapy Dog at the Funeral Home

The Gift at the Other End of the Leash Today, August 26, is National Dog Day, a day created to celebrate dogs of every breed and background and to call attention to their welfare. For those of us who know therapy dogs, however, celebration can look different. It may not be a dog racing across… Continue reading National Dog Day

When you see a Therapy Dog leaving a hospital, you may see the same dog who walked in an hour earlier. The same blue bandana. The same golden coat. The same gentle eyes. The same loose leash between dog and handler. But look closer. Something has changed. While everyone notices the Therapy Dog arriving, very… Continue reading When the Bandana Comes Off

The room was exactly the kind of place where a therapy dog was expected to shine. Six residents sat in a loose circle while afternoon sunlight warmed the carpet, and the faint smell of coffee drifted in from the hallway. A woman in a lavender sweater was already smiling before the dog reached her. Another… Continue reading The Visit He Chose to Leave

The therapy dog had been home for ten minutes when his handler noticed something she had almost overlooked for years. He was asleep. Not curled lightly on the rug where one ear remained tuned to the kitchen. This was different. He had stretched across the cool hardwood floor, chin flat between his paws, breathing deep… Continue reading The Work After the Work

For eleven years, Rosie knew exactly what happened when the blue bandana came out of the drawer. Her tail began moving before the buckle clicked beneath her chin. She would stand at the garage door while her handler gathered the water bowl, identification badge, wipes, and leash. The nursing home was only fifteen minutes away,… Continue reading When the Bandana Becomes Too Heavy

The therapy dog stopped just inside the hospital entrance and lifted his nose. His handler smelled the familiar things: disinfectant, coffee drifting from somewhere beyond the lobby, perhaps the faint medicinal odor that seems to cling to every hospital corridor. The dog was receiving an entirely different version of the building. He sniffed the air… Continue reading “We enter the same hospital together, but we do not enter the same world.”

The hospital doors opened with their familiar mechanical sigh, releasing a breath of cool air that smelled faintly of disinfectant, coffee, and rain carried inside on people’s coats. A therapy dog stepped through beside his handler. His paws made soft taps against the polished floor. His tail moved easily. The leash between them hung in… Continue reading The Other End of the Leash

Recent canine behavior research continues to reveal something that many experienced therapy dog handlers have quietly known for years. A therapy dog’s greatest strength is not simply remaining calm. It is knowing when to seek reassurance from the person holding the leash. A July 2026 study found that dogs with a secure attachment to their… Continue reading The Hand on My Shoulder

There is a moment that eventually comes to every experienced therapy dog handler. You don’t notice it at first because nothing dramatic happens. There is no emergency. No frightened patient. No unforgettable hospital room.It happens in an ordinary hallway on an ordinary afternoon. A volunteer smiles and says, “There’s one more patient who would love… Continue reading Speaking for My Therapy Dog