Photo by Rosemary Ketchum on Unsplash
other volunteers dropped out . She continued alone . For the next few years she made up the schedules , wrote the newsletters , selected the pets and did whatever was necessary to keep the group going , accomplished entirely at her own expense .
In 1995 , the organization had a turning point thanks to Jim Tedford , the new , now former , executive director of the Louisiana SPCA . At an organizational meeting , Jim spoke about an animal assisted therapy group he developed in Knoxville , Tennessee . Under his guidance a steering committee , which eventually became the board of directors , was created . The group restructured and renamed themselves the Louisiana SPCA Visiting Pet Program . In spring of 2000 , the organization became an independent 501 ( c )( 3 ) non-profit . Before
PupandPurr . com 35
COVID , the Visiting Pet Program served 22 facilities , each getting a visit at least once a month ; that number continues rising .
I had the opportunity to speak with Claire Sommers , the current program coordinator , who enlightened me on the organization ’ s amazing current work . Most visited facilities include nursing homes , but they also visit our airport , both Children ’ s and Ochsner Hospitals , college campuses such as Tulane and Loyola during midterm and finals weeks , and the East Jefferson Parish Library . I figured all the places above can be very stressful , but the library baffled me . In 2000 , they developed a very successful literacy project , Reading To Rover , designed for children who struggle with reading aloud in a group . The dogs offer a calm , accepting presence for those children to practice this skill . The program has been a wonderful opportunity to share the unconditional love of dogs with children who have reading challenges and may not have a pet of their own . For their efforts , the Visiting Pet Program received the “ Silent Hero ” recognition from WWL-TV from Channel 4 in 2002 and Louisiana SPCA ’ s “ Humanitarians of the Year ” in 2004 .
The Visiting Pet P rogram ’ s tag line says it all : “ Bringing Love and Leaving Smiles !”
Brilliantly , they have also recently begun having their dogs visit conventions , where they set up a little park filled with faux grass and benches at convention sites . Attendees are allowed to come into this area , sit on the benches and pet the dogs . Being away from home on business can be stressful , especially for those who have pets at home . Even though it is not their actual pet , playing with another dog helps pet parents feel connected to home .
Claire said that she enjoys visiting the nursing homes . With all the other locations they visit , most of the people are going home or leaving the place they are located : a hospital , school , airport , or convention . But no one is leaving a nursing home , and in many cases , these dogs are the only visitors some have . She joked that while the people in these homes may not remember her name , they never forget the dogs ’.
For a dog , the path for program enrollment is not easy . Claire comments that being a therapy pet is not a trained behavior ; the