# Therapy Dog



## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Sailor is on year eight of therapy work at the high school. Last week because of exam scheduling we ended up with an art class, instead of our regular reading class. We also had two hours, instead of one. The students were working with water painting on different textures... so, Sailor got to be one of the textures. Most of the colors washed out right away. Orange proved to be a bit more difficult. It was worth it because the kids were so enthralled, and Sailor liked all the attention, too.


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## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

What a lovely photo, he almost looks like a painted ornament! And what a wonderful thing you and Sailor are doing for those children, he is obviously a very special poodle.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

The purple heart is perfect! He deserves one! Sailor, you are a very special guy!!!!


P.S. Hey Charmed, looks like we both are having a bit of insomnia tonight in Calif!!!! LOL!!!


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## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

That's so much fun! May I ask what these sessions normally consists of?


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

What a good sweet boy Sailor is. I can imagine he drew some extra attention when you walked him to the car to get home


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Super cute. That's very generous of you to let them paint sailor. I'm sure those kids will remember that class for years with fond memories because of your visit with Sailor


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

That is wonderful! More future converts to our amazing breed and such a community spirited effort by Team Sailor.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

He looks very charming in multi-color!

Is Sailor usually working with special needs students, or does he just drop in wherever the kids might need a pick-me-up? I've never seen a therapy team at a high school before, so I'm curious.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Sailor "listens" to the kids read. They think he is really interested in the reading material because he is trained to lay his head across their legs. These students are at least three years behind grade level in reading. As you can imagine, by the time they get to high school age, these students can be very shy about reading out loud. The original hypothesis was that students would feel more comfortable reading to someone who was nonjudgmental. It turned out to be true as by the second month of school everyone was on their best behavior to make sure they did not lose their dog time. It is very difficult to get volunteers for this age group as they are not quite as cute and cuddly as younger kids. They have been very sweet to me, but they do like to test you at first, ha-ha! We go to school for an hour every Friday unless there is a schedule change.


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## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

That is fantastic work. You and Sailor are doing a wonderful thing for those kids. Thank you!


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Great job, Sailor and love your coat of many colors!


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

The work you do with Sailor is really inspiring, Charmed. Thanks for your good work.


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