Willie is a multiply-impaired 3-year old who attends the Utah School for Deaf and Blind; he functions at an extremely low level and spends much of his time propped up in a chair or on a pad or bean bag on the floor. He is extraordinarily cheerful and “easy” compared to many of his little classmates—a mere touch or the mention of his name always elicits a broad smile.
Willie was one of the first clients Foster visited when he became
a Pet Partner therapy dog early in 1994. On our first encounter,
one of the teachers propped Willie up in her lap and Foster and
I settled in next to him on the floor to get acquainted. Since
our program was also new with these children, none of us—dogs,
handlers, teachers or children—knew precisely what to expect,
so when Willie stretched out his arms and visible tremors passed
through his whole body, I said softly to the teacher, “Oh
gosh, did we do something to startle or frighten him?”
And she replied, with amazement in her voice, “Oh no, Willie is using every ounce of strength and energy he can muster to reach out toward Foster—it's the effort that's causing him to tremble. Normally, he is virtually unable to raise his arms at all, nor does he have the strength and muscle control to even keep his eyelids open for long—and see how he is focusing his eyes so intently on Foster?” Willie's teacher was awe-struck, as we all often are, with the dramatic difference the presence of these animals can make.
The next time we visited, Foster played pillow and we reclined Willie against him. Willie felt the up-and-down motion of Foster's breathing and looked rather like he was floating on a cloud. Foster has quite long hair, and Willie's breath was causing the fur to wave back and forth right in front of his mouth. We noticed that, on each in-breath when Foster's fur brushed Willie's lips, he would look positively delighted, and soon we heard giggles burbling forth. And then! Willie began to make lots of little excited verbalizations—something his teachers say he simply does not do otherwise.
Being with a therapy animal seems to inevitably provide stimulation, a sense of curiosity and wonder, and the motivation to reach out and express, things which the most loving and devoted caretakers often can't inspire in their patients.
We are told, in this work, not to expect miracles on a daily basis—but I don't believe it.
-Kathy Klotz