Unique Human/Dog Connection Changing Lives
Made for each other
By Betsy Allen
“Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.”
- Colette
Certified dog handler Debbie Fox remembers an experience at a Loudoun elementary school that touched her deeply. Fox and her English Yellow Lab, Izzy, had been making regular canine therapy visits and working with two nonverbal autistic students. One day, she arrived and was approached by one of the school’s speech therapists. “I don’t think you know how much we love you coming here,” the therapist said. Fox was grateful for the kind words, but the therapist went on to clarify. “We had two kids speak just because Izzy came into their lives.”
She told Fox that she had been walking down a school hallway with one of the nonverbal students a few days prior. At some point, the young boy turned to the therapist and said proudly, “I’m walking the dog” – not just a word or two, but a full sentence. Fox saw that as a bit of an “aha” moment with regard to her efforts. Her voice catching, she says, “That’s why I do it.” Read the full article…
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Please Comment!
terryh
This was one of the best “local” articles ever written about one of our programs. I would encourage everyone to read it.
Danielle McPhail
I think this is fantastic. It’s great that it’s a local article, so that people nearby can read it, get interested, come to this site to learn more, and hopefully be inclined to help however they can. I like that it listed the multiple benefits of EAD’s, other than for entertainment purposes, which I know is how a few parent’s feel about them. This is very well written, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.
Georgianna H
It’s great to hear how dogs are changing the lives of people. I think it’s really awesome that the nonverbal child spoke when he was able to walk the dog. It shows that dogs have a special way with humans and are able to comfort them and allow them step out of their comfort zone.