Therapy Dog Group is a senior community service project that enlists dogs to aid people with disabilities. Over the past two months, a group of ten Jesuit seniors led by Mrs. Cheryl Woolnough in the student affairs office have prepared their canine friends for action, training them to help needy persons.
Students take their dogs to participating sites around Dallas that range from assisted living centers to special needs schools. They take on a number of different jobs, from simply interacting with people to helping disabled children with physical therapy. “Many of the elderly people enjoy the dogs, as some don’t get frequent visitors,” said Mrs. Woolnough. “They [elderly people] will tell you about the dogs they had when they were young.”
Chris Axmann ’12, who takes part in the program, decided that he enjoys dog therapy because “it’s really not different from other service sites [in terms of helping the needy]…but the core difference is that you have your dog there.”
Therapy Dog Group is not exclusively available to seniors, though; anyone can have a therapy dog. “The dog does not even have to be your dog,” Axmann added. “It can be someone else’s dog.” Mrs. Woolnough must temperament-test every dog to ensure they are cut out for the job. If a dog passes the temperament test, then it must go through a rigorous training process with its owner to earn the title of therapy dog.
As the Therapy Dog Group begins to expand at Jesuit College Prep, a select group of seniors have found a special way to live as Men For Others. For more information on therapy dog group, contact Mrs. Woolnough at the student affairs desk.
