Heather and her Labradors Sailor and Harbor are mentoring new Love on a Leash pet therapy teams during supervised visits.
In this 75th episode of Therapy Dog Talk, I chat with Heather and her two Black Labradors, Sailor and Harbor. We talk about their experiences as therapy dogs with Love on a Leash, and how they help new pet therapy teams learn the ropes during supervised visits. We also share heartwarming stories from their work.
Heather tells me how she got into therapy dog work after a coworker introduced her to it at an animal hospital. She explains that Sailor and Harbor have the perfect personalities for helping people, and they volunteer at places like hospitals, schools, and senior homes.
One special thing about Heather’s team is that Harbor is deaf. Heather talks about the challenges and opportunities that come with this, and how it has led to some amazing experiences. She also shares her favorite part of therapy dog work: making deep connections with the people they help.
We share a touching story about Sailor and a patient, showing the huge impact therapy dogs can have on people. Heather also gives great advice for those thinking about becoming a therapy dog team, like teaching your dog not to jump on people.
In this episode of Therapy Dog Talk, Heather and her wonderful Labradors, Sailor and Harbor, show us the incredible work they do and teach us a lot about volunteering as a therapy dog team.
In this episode, we discuss …
- What Heather learned in training her labradors to be therapy dogs.
- How to get involved with Love on a Leash.
- Why Heather loves volunteering with her dogs and how rewarding it is to see the progress of new therapy teams.
Key moments you won’t want to miss:
Note that the timecodes match the video, not the podcast.
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[01:00] Heather introduces herself and her two Labrador therapy dogs, Sailor and Harbor.
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[01:41] Heather mentions that Sailor and Harbor are certified through Love on a Leash.
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[02:07] Heather shares how she first found out about therapy dogs through a coworker at the animal hospital.
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[03:28] Heather discusses Sailor and Harbor’s personalities and why they’re a good fit for therapy work.
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[04:06] Heather talks about the different places Sailor and Harbor volunteer at, such as hospitals, schools, and senior homes.
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[04:51] Heather speaks about the challenges and opportunities of working with Harbor, who is deaf.
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[05:21] Heather shares what she enjoys most about therapy dog work, including the connections made with people.
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[06:37] Heather tells a heartwarming story about a patient’s progress and the impact Sailor had on him.
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[08:32] Heather offers advice for people interested in becoming a therapy dog team, emphasizing the importance of teaching a dog not to jump.
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[09:45] Heather, Sailor, and Harbor’s inspiring work showcases the power and impact of therapy dogs and volunteering as a therapy dog team.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I do. Give it a watch or a listen and then let me know in the community which part you found the most helpful!
Mentioned in this episode:
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Therapy Dog Talk is a podcast where I interview a different team each week via Instagram Live. If you enjoyed this episode please find us over at Apple, Google, or Spotify and give us a follow after you leave a review.
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