Toby the Therapy Dog A therapy dog, by definition, is a dog trained to provide comfort to those in need, but Toby is so much more. Toby, a black lab, is a certified therapy dog with “Pet Partners”, provides more than comfort, he provides love, laughs, and lots of slobbery kisses. Toby was bred to be a Seeing Eye dog (a guide dog for the blind), but was taken out of training when diagnosed with a few medical problems, including hip dysplasia. Canine dropouts are usually put up for adoption, and so was Toby. It just so happens that David Grieger, a retired pastor and hospital chaplain, picked him up from Leaderdog School for the Blind, located in Rochester, Michigan. It was an instant connection. David Grieger, Toby’s owner, has “always loved dogs and was looking for a way in which I [he] could continue my [his] hospital contacts after retiring, [from being a chaplain]”. While he worked as a chaplain he said that he saw many pet therapy groups come in, and was “fascinated” with the responses given by the medical staff, patients and families there. When interviewed, he told me that he also had a fellow chaplain who did therapy dog work while on his few days off, and Grieger “shadowed” to see what it was all about. “As a result, I decided that I wanted to do pet therapy upon retirement,” he said. Luckily, Toby was ready too. Grieger and Toby were trained in therapy together, as Grieger, though he had owned two previous rescue dogs (they were not trained canines), had no “previous experience in dog training.” After lots of hard work put in by both dog and man, Toby is now a certified therapy dog with Pet Partners, and the pair work with Wags-For-Hope, an organisation that sends canines just like Toby to places like nursing homes, high schools, hospitals, and even to hospices to comfort, love, and even lick their patients. David Greiger has had many amazing experiences working with Toby, but some of the most heartwarming and touching ones have come from those patients in dire need of love. Toby and Grieger worked in a nursing home in Indiana before moving to Maryland, and were visiting patients one day. According to Grieger, a nurse asked him from her patient's room, “What did your dog do?” and he was perplexed. He turned around to walk into the room, and saw a huge grin on the nurses face, he said. Apparently “whatever Toby did was marvellous, because Margaret [the nurses patient] just spoke to me [the nurse] for the first time in three weeks.” Grieger also told me of two “significant” hospital stories, one about a man, and another of a child. Toby and Grieger had been travelling around the hospital when they came to a man who had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The man was to be put on hospice. “How did you know I needed a visit from a dog?” the man asked, “I have to go into hospice. I will not be able to take my dog with me.” The man then asked Greiger to “stay a while so that I [he] could play with your dog.” and according to Greiger the man the got out of bed to play with and pet Toby, who surely loved every minute of it. The last story is that of Toby and the young boy, in a pediatric room. A shy 10-year old boy was next to be visited by Toby. “The nurse said he [the boy] had been very uncomfortable,” and that he might not want the visit. She was very wrong. As soon as Toby pranced into the room the boy asked if Toby could jump up onto his bed. The hospital said yes and everything was better for the child. Toby “laid down as close as possible” and the child got to pet, stroke, and scratch Toby, who gave him lots of kisses. Before Grieger and Toby left, the boy even got a picture with Toby to show to his parents later on. These true stories exemplify the amazing relationship between a dog and their person, and the peace a dog can bring onto hurting person. “All of these, and many more, have convinced me of the very special bond which exists between people and dogs. Dogs bring more love, more joy, [and] more comfort than I ever imagined possible.” (David Greiger)
Overall, I would rate this boy a solid 100/10 for his service to mankind. He is the boy all good boys strive to be.
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