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NEWS: October 5, 2002
Meet our New Therapy Teams
Congratulations to the new members of the Canine Therapy Corps. Five new teams will become active volunteers from our October 5 testing period. Read below for some of the stories of our new therapy teams.
Our October 5 new therapy dog teams
Meet Zorro
Zorro is a 3-year-old male standard poodle. Long before he was born, Zorro's
owners, Judy and Rich Deogracias, first learned about Canine Therapy Corps while
playing at a park with another standard poodle. Mondo, who was a CT volunteer.
Ever since Zorro took his first obedience class, his goal was to successfully
test for CT! When Zorro isn't chasing squirrels and retrieving balls, he enjoys
learning new tricks and chasing the neighbor's cat out of his yard. Zorro
and his owners are very grateful to have the opportunity to volunteer with
Canine Therapy Corps.
Meet Carly
Carly was the runt of a twelve-pup litter, born in the snow on the first day of spring. Her heritage includes Labrador retriever, German shorthair pointer, Staffordshire terrier, golden retriever and Akita. She is now 10 years old and still enjoys swimming, playing Frisbee and stalking squirrels, although she hasn't caught one in years.
I have always thought Carly was special. She is friendly, playful and very expressive. For instance, if she really wants something and feels we are ignoring her, she can make an exclamation point with her body to get our attention. When I saw the Canine Therapy Corps in a TV promotion, I thought she would make a great therapy dog. She certainly is good therapy for me. As an attorney practicing in the field of Elder Law, I want to promote programs such as Canine Therapy Corps within the legal community for this growing age group.
Meet Allie
Gayle has been actively involved with animal rescue for many years and has a multi-pet household. Her interest was heightened about the David R. Lee Center (a.k.a. Chicago Pound) following a complimentary article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune during the Fall of 2001. Read below for the story of how Gayle and Allie found each other.
"My visit to the pound took place November 23, 2001. I was very impressed
not only with the cleanliness of the facility but with the adoption program
they had instituted. I walked through the two very large rooms of available
dogs (adoptable and ready to go and adoptable and not ready to go -- dogs
were classified into these two groups) and each appeared to be clean and tended
by caring volunteers. All of the eyes tugged at my heart but since I had 5
dogs at home, I did not feel that I could bring another one in. I left only
to return the next day -- one more, just one more, after all there is always
room for one more.
"Walking through the 'adoptable but not ready to go room' again, I saw a delicate black dog with a few scars on her body shaking in the back of her cage. Her size would fit with the rest of my crew, but it was her gentle face that guided me to remove the card from the front of the cage and bring it to the adoption volunteer. She was very shy and timid and was referred to as a 'gift'. I learned that the give-ups were referred to as gifts. I was also informed that she was about 11 months old and not housebroken or spayed. If I decided to adopt her, I could pick her up Wednesday, November 28th. I decided that I would be able to leave work early that day.
"Once Allie adapted to Max, Molly, Suzi-Q, Kyla and Mackie, all of the cats and me, I called Gene at Koven Dog Training in Chicago to schedule a training program. I felt that therapy work might just be her calling. Gene guided me with Allie in general obedience working along the guidelines of the Chenny test.
"Allie has truly been a gift, hopefully her gifts will be shared with people whose lives she may be able to enrich."
