Joanna had been lying in a fetal position in the far corner of the large activity room for over an hour, sobbing quietly. The other children were petting and playing with three large dog twenty feet away--a German Shepherd, a Doberman, and a Rottweiler. Meanwhile, the head therapist was talking to the volunteers who accompanied the dogs about Joanna, the child in the corner. She and the other children in the room looked like typical preschoolers, but these children were all victims of physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse so serious that they were forced to live in this residential treatment facility. To these children, especially Joanna, the world outside was a world to be feared, and adults were not to be trusted.
Joanna was having an especially difficult day. Fearful and withdrawn, she spoke to no one and refused to join the others. Instead, she continued to sob quietly and attempts to reach her had failed. Suddenly, Jake, the German Shepherd, raised his head slowly from beneath the pile of children who were lying on him. The therapists and volunteers watched silently. They all knew that Jake had a special gift for helping troubled children, but no one was prepared for what he did that day.
Jake sensed that a child in the far corner of the room needed him. Carefully separating himself from the other children who clung to him, he began to crawl across the room to Joanna. No one had ever seen Jake crawl before, and he has not crawled since. But on this day he crawled ... under a table and across the room to Joanna. He began to “speak” gently to her, and to sniff her delicately.
Soon his nose pointed at Joanna's knee, covered by a soft cotton dress. Carefully, she showed Jake a small scrape on her knee. Satisfied that the hurt was not serious,Jake placed his head in her lap and continued cooing to her softly. She stopped crying and began to smile. Soon she was stroking his head, which he kept in her lap.
After about ten minutes, Jake's handler asked Joanna if she would like to take Jake over to join the other children. Proudly, she stood up and walked over to introduce her new friend Jake. While no adult had been able to reach through her pain, a dog twice her size had touched her with his love.