Frightened and mistrustful children and adults are not uncommon to Kerry Lauer who works as a rape and abuse counselor. But she’ll never forget how her rescue dog, “Alice,” helped one father deal with the aftermath of his little boy’s molestation by an older relative.

The father, who also had been molested as a child, “did not want to visit with a counselor but was doing so to help his son,” recalls Lauer of Fargo, N.D. “When the dad came into my office, Alice cozied up on the floor between his legs and rolled over on her back so that he could stroke her tummy. The dad never looked at me; he watched Alice the entire session. She stayed there the whole time, and I believe that’s the only reason the dad was able to stay in the office to talk about how to help his son.”

For Alice, helping that father was all in a day’s work as a therapy dog. She and Lauer are certified by Love on a Leash (LOAL), a national organization that provides training, evaluation and certification procedures for therapy pets and their owners. Alice’s skills as a therapy dog may flow not only from her training but also from her background. Like so many of the people she has helped, Alice endured abandonment and abuse. When Lauer adopted Alice and brought her into her home, she also brought the dog into her heart.

Helping Those in Need
Alice isn’t the only rescue dog who has overcome a traumatic past and gone on to help people cope with traumas or challenges in their lives. More than a few of the dogs certified by LOAL are rescues. No matter a dog’s origins, LOAL’s purpose is the same: to train dogs — and their owners — to help people in need.

Started more than 20 years ago by writer and dog trainer Liz Palika of Oceanside, Calif., LOAL today has more than 600 members in 28 states. The organization is officially incorporated as the Foundation for Pet Provided Therapy. “I had an Australian Shepherd named ‘Care Bear’ who was perfect for therapy dog work,” Palika recalls. “I had him certified through a pet therapy organization and began visiting facilities with him. He was just as wonderful as I knew he would be, and we really enjoyed our volunteer work.

“But as a dog trainer, I felt that the evaluation process left something to be desired. When other people wanted to join me on our visits, I decided to do some research. Eventually I began LOAL with the goal of simply being a San Diego County group.”

To become certified, a dog must pass LOAL’s Pet Obedience/Control Evaluation, which is given by a professional trainer or animal behaviorist, or the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen exam. In addition, a dog and handler must perform 10 hours of supervised visits at a facility of the handler’s choice. The supervisor can be the activities director or other manager, who fills out an evaluation form. Once a handler-dog team completes these steps, they are eligible for LOAL certification.

Theoretically, any dog and handler can earn LOAL certification; however, some people believe that a team with a rescue dog brings something special to the therapeutic situation. “Obviously not all rescue dogs can become excellent therapy dogs, but many can,” Palika says. “I think many rescue dogs feel a sense of gratitude for their new lives and enjoy sharing their joy with people.”

That may be the case for Alice, who was hungry, abandoned and pregnant in a small northern Minnesota town 10 years ago. Townspeople were feeding the dog table scraps, but no one knew where she’d come from. Finally, a friend of Lauer’s took the dog home. A week later, Alice gave birth to nine puppies. The friend began asking people if they’d want to adopt the puppies. Among those she approached was Lauer, who had never owned a dog and wasn’t sure that she wanted a puppy.

“At the time I lived in an apartment and didn’t think I could start my dog career with a puppy,” Lauer explains. “So I told my friend that I would be interested in Alice if she decided to give her away and keep a puppy. A couple of weeks later, my friend called me and asked if I was still interested. I said ‘yes.’”

Lauer soon learned that her new Australian Shepherd-Australian Cattle Dog mix was “very smart and caught on quickly to obedience work. It took me a lot longer to catch on to being a leader.”

Alice’s therapeutic duties at the rape crisis and abuse center where she and Lauer work include greeting new clients, being available for petting during therapy sessions, and walking clients to the door at the conclusion of a therapy session. “Several clients have asked if they can just make an appointment with Alice,” Lauer notes. “Most clients tell me that having Alice in the office is relaxing and helps them feel less anxious.”

A Variety of Settings
Other rescue dogs certified by LOAL work in a variety of settings to bring comfort to people in need. “Jake,” a 4-year-old American Pit Bull who lived in an animal shelter and then a rescue group foster home, works in the spinal cord injury unit at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., with his owner-handler, Nicole Rattay of San Diego.

“Depending on a patient’s mobility, Jake’s interaction with them differs,” Rattay explains. “If a patient is in bed, Jake can put his front paws up on the bed, which allows the patient to pat his head. He also can get all the way up on the bed and lie next to the person, allowing more contact. If someone is in a wheelchair, he can sit next to them and be petted or he can put his paws up on the arm of the chair.”

Rattay believes that Jake makes a big difference in the lives of the patients he encounters. “I think that animals can have a positive impact different from what people get from each other,” she says. “This is why I wanted to do therapy with Jake.”

Four-year-old “Gracey,” a black Labrador Retriever, had just had puppies, been recently spayed, and suffered a severe ear infection when a southern California rescue group adopted her from an Orange County animal shelter. Norma Spencer of Cardiff, Calif., fell in love with Gracey and worked hard to not only teach the unschooled dog manners but also to help her overcome separation anxiety. Now, three years later, Spencer and Gracey use their LOAL training and certification in many settings.

“We have visited many places, but the most rewarding is our involvement with the San Diego Cancer Center this past year,” says Spencer. “Once a week we visit the patients who are receiving chemotherapy and spend time with them. Gracey really has captured the hearts of a lot of people.”

“Izzie,” a terrier mix, had endured abuse at the hands of strangers and several months as a stray on the streets of St. Louis before Sandra Murphy could lure the frightened dog into her home. “It was February and there was a slick sheet of ice on the ground,” Murphy recalls. “I had a piece of food that caught Izzie’s attention. When I brought her into the house, she immediately ran upstairs. An hour later, she slowly came down the stairs, climbed into my lap and into my heart.”

Izzie proved to be “an exceptional dog,“ Murphy says. Several months of obedience classes and lots of patience enabled Izzie and Murphy to qualify for LOAL certification. Although they visited many types of facilities, Murphy and Izzie spent most of their time in nursing and retirement homes. There, the once orphaned little dog sat quietly while elderly residents — even those who’d been afraid of dogs before — petted her and held her paws. Izzie died two years ago at the age of 13 of bladder cancer. While “I still miss her of course, it helps to remember all the fun we had,” Murphy says.

The dog is half of what makes a successful therapy team, says LOAL president Rick Hawes.“It takes a special kind of caring person to rescue a dog,” he says. “That kind of person will naturally lean toward volunteer services, such as therapy dog work, that they can do with their pets.

“Many times the dogs have special challenges, such as fears or behavioral issues, that must be overcome. It is a true sign of success if an owner can overcome these issues to the point that the dog may qualify to work in pet-provided therapy.”

Certainly Alice posed her share of challenges to Lauer — and, to an extent, still does. The otherwise mannerly therapy dog likes to roll in deer droppings and barks fanatically at motorcycles and other dogs. “People rudely tell me to ‘Shut that dog up’ or ‘Can’t you train that dog?’” Lauer says. “Since I have no clue about her first couple of years, I have no idea if there is a cause for the barking.”

But to Lauer, those failings are small compared to the help Alice offers by her very presence. “Most of my clients are domestic violence victims, and a common issue for domestic violence is the belief that somehow they provoked or deserved the abuse,” Lauer explains. “I’ll point to Alice and say, ‘What would it say about Alice if I got up and kicked her?’ The clients are generally horrified. Then I’ll ask, ‘What would it say about me if I kicked her?’ They start to get the idea that abusive behavior says nothing about the victim but tells volumes about the abuser.

“I’m so grateful to have Alice and to have been able to give a good home to someone else’s throwaway dog,” Lauer continues. “I know she has changed my life as well as having affected the lives of many of my clients.”

For additional information, contact:
Love on a Leash
The Foundation for Pet Provided Therapy
P.O. Box 4115
Oceanside, CA 92052-4115
(760) 740-2326
info@loveonaleash.org