Winter 2010

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BARKER
A Therapy Dog Publication of St. John Ambulance NS/PEI Council
WINTER 2010
Letter From the Editor
Another fall has come and gone, although lately
it hasn’t felt like that outside! Winter marks the
beginning of a new year; it’s hard to believe that
2010 is almost over.
This has been a
successful year for the Therapy Dog Program.
Overall we’ve held 17 evaluations and
welcomed 100 new volunteers to the Program!
We have increased the number of volunteers
significantly in the Antigonish region and started
the Program in the Cumberland County region.
I’m looking forward to 2011 when we can grow
the number of volunteers even more in all
regions of the Program!
Max
Proudly owned by volunteer Lynne Pascoe of Dartmouth
With 2010 at a closing, this is also the time that
you will need to send in any outstanding visiting
hours for the year. Your monthly statistics are vital to the Program as they demonstrate the success of the
Program, gain funding and volunteer recognition is based from these numbers. Please contact me if you are
not sure if you owe any hours or if you’d like to know your visiting hours total for the year.
Remember that cold and flu season is among us, so please do not make any visits to your facility if you or
your dog are not feeling well. Call the facility and make alternate arrangements as soon as you know you
will not be making your scheduled visit. You should also make sure the facility has your contact information
in case they close due to illness and need to contact you.
Thank you everyone for such a fantastic year in the Therapy Dog Program. You have all been so helpful
with promotional events, evaluations, mentoring new Therapy Dog Teams and have been very dedicated to
visiting the clients at your facilities. This is truly an amazing Program thanks to all of the wonderful
volunteers, Therapy Dogs and all the staff and clients at the participating Heath Care Facilities.
Wishing you and yours all the best during the Holiday Season!
Therapy Dog Program Coordinator
No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.
-Louis Sabin
[email protected]
www.sja.ca/ns
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Seasons Greeting Card Contest
I’d like to thank everyone that submitted photos for this years
Seasons Greeting Card Contest. The choice was very difficult
as we have very photogenic Dogs in our Program! Keep a look
out for the card in the mail which should be arriving soon. In the
meantime, here are some our ‘Honorable Mentions’.
Please make sure to take lots of holiday and winter themed
pictures of your Therapy Dog this season so you can submit
them for the 2011 Seasons Greeting Card Contest!
Muin is this years Seasons Greeting Card Winner.
She is proudly owned by Ann Varley-Forrest of Baddeck.
DID YOU KNOW??
We currently have 215 Volunteers in the Therapy Dog Program!
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WINTER 2010
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What’s Going On?
Program Growth
Since the last issue of the Barker we have held 8 Evaluations. This included 4 in Metro, 2 in Antigonish, as
well as one in the Valley and one in Amherst . Overall we have welcomed 49 new teams to the Program
during the fall months! We have also welcomed a new evaluator, Jeanette Reynolds from the metro area.
Jeanette will be a great asset to the growth of the Program. Welcome new volunteers!
Therapy Dog Website
In the new year the Therapy Dog Program will be getting it’s own website! This is going to be a great place
to find volunteer resources, to see photos as well as past and present Barker Newsletters, and to record
your volunteer hours. There will be more information on this website in the months to come!
fantasy. It starts out with a bit of "sleep running", lots
of eye movement and then, suddenly, a shrieking
howl blasted through the night like a banshee wail.
The first thing you discover when you bring a dog The horror of this wake-up call haunts you for years.
onto your bed is the striking difference in weight It's particularly devastating when your pup insists on
between an alert, awake dog and a dog at rest. sleeping curled around your head like a demented
Daniel Boone cap.
Whoever said “Let Sleeping Dogs
Lie” Didn’t sleep with dogs!
Rule #1: The deeper the sleep the heavier the dog.
Most people who sleep with dogs develop spinal
deformities rather than rent the heavy equipment
necessary to move their snoring canines to a more
appropriate part of the bed. Cunning canines steal
precious space in tiny increments until they have
achieved the center position on the bed - with all
covers carefully tucked under them for safekeeping.
The stretch and roll method is very effective in
gaining territory. Less subtle tactics are sometimes
preferred. A jealous dog can worm his way between
a sleeping couple and, with the proper spring action
from all four legs, shove a sleeping human to the
floor.
Rule #2: Dogs possess superhuman strength while
on a bed. As you cling to the edge of the bed,
wishing you had covers, your sweet pup begins to
snore at a volume you would not have thought
possible. Once that quiets down, the dog dreams
begin. Yipping, growling, running, kicking. Your bed
becomes a battlefield and playground of canine
Rule #3: The deeper the sleep, the louder the dog.
The night creeps on and you fall asleep in the 3
inches of bed not claimed by a dog. The dog dreams
quiet slightly and the heap of dog flesh sleeps breathing heavily and passing wind. Then, too soon,
it's dawn and the heap stirs. Each dog has a
distinctive and unpleasant method of waking the
pack. One may position itself centimetres from a face
and stare until you wake. The clever dog obtains
excellent results by simply sneezing on your face, or
they could romp all over your sleeping bodies - or the
ever-loving insertion of a tongue in an unsuspecting
ear.
Rule #4: When the dog wakes - you wake. So, why
do we put up with this? There's no sane reason.
Perhaps it's just that we're a pack and apack heaps
together at night - safe, contented, heavy and loud.
-- Author Unknown
DID YOU KNOW??
We currently have 229 Therapy Dogs in the Program!
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Tasty Treats
Therapy Dog Volunteer
Receives Special Recognition
Ginger Bread Bones
Therapy Dog Broghan and Handler Amanda
Samson received a Volunteer Appreciation Award
from the Colchester Regional Hospital (CRH) in
Truro for their 4 years of volunteer service.
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
½ cup of molasses
½ cup of water
A quarter cup of canola oil
2 tablespoons of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ground cloves
Broghan and Amanda have dedicated more than
125 visiting hours to patients and staff at Colchester
Regional Hospital.
Patients, families and staff all
look forward to their visits.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix in a large bowl. Roll out
dough on floured baking board to about 5mm thick.
Using a dog bone shape cookie cutter to cut as many
shapes until the dough is all used up. Place cut dough
on ungreased foiled baking sheets. Bake the cookies for
30 minutes. Let Cool.
Volunteer Spotlight
SPECIAL THANKS FROM
EVERYONE AT CRH!!!
-submitted by Wendy Mosher of Colchester Regional Hospital.
written and submitted by Lori Sutherland of New Glasgow
In 2005 Jamie was rescued from a terrible hoarding
situation and placed in the care of a National Canadian
Springer Rescue. In Early 2006, shortly after having to
say good-bye to our 14 yr old Lab, we adopted Jamie
from Springer Rescue. He was a sweet little boy at the
age of 5 when we adopted him. He was very good with
people and cats, but due to the situation he was in had
developed a type of fear aggression of other dogs but
settled in quite well with our cats. He is a wonderful little
couch potato, not the typical high energy Springer at all!
He greets all people fondly and upon awakening in the
mornings sings for his breakfast.
and was on his way to start visiting a local long-term
care facility in our community. Once a week Jamie and I
visit the facility for approximately one hour and have
made some new friends. When I put his SJA scarf on,
Jamie knows where he is going and jumps and sings for
joy. He is so calm and loving and the residents in the
facility always look forward to his visits.
This is one example of the love and happiness that a
rescued dog can bring to not only the family who adopts
them, but also to the community. If it wasn’t for the
loving and kind people of rescue, Jamie’s future would
have been uncertain. However with the efforts of many
After 4 years of being part of our family, I decided to volunteers he has completely blossomed with us and
take a Pet First Aid course through St. John now even more than ever with his new ‘job’ in the
Ambulance. At this time I discovered the SJA Therapy community."
Dog Program and it sounded like a wonderful program
to take part in, so Jamie and I applied. Part of the
Thank You Springer Rescue
testing to see if he would be a good Therapy Dog
&
involved him being subjected to other dogs which Jamie Thank You St. John Ambulance
is usually not fond of. Surprisingly, Jamie did very well
Therapy Dog Program!
around the other dogs and did wonderful with the other
‘stress tests’ as well. It’s like he knew what it was all
about and what he had to do. Jamie passed the testing Article taken from http://www.srecc.org/
Extra! Extra!
We are always looking for material for the Barker. Please send us your favorite dog quotes and jokes,
photos for our cover dog, stories about your furry friend and notes on special visits!
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WINTER 2010