Therapy dogs bring out the best in people

Having a dog should be considered a privilege and something one should experience at least once in their lifetime.

For a couple of days, residents of Môreglans Old Age Home could relive this exact experience when Paws for People (PFP) recently paid them a visit.

The founder of PFP, Lesley de Klerk, truly believes that therapy dogs bring out the best in people.

Lesley witnesses first-hand how the therapy dogs she trains bring joy to those in desperate need of unconditional love.

“Animal therapy is truly a wonderful experience and seeing the sunshine coming into a room makes my heart melt,” she says.

PFP’s mission is clear – it is to bring together dogs and people in a warm, non-threatening manner, allowing them to interact positively through their controlled and friendly approach.

Lesley says they visit numerous old age homes, special needs schools, hospitals and even safety programmes.

“We enjoy assisting our dogs in interacting positively with young and old alike. We have trained our dogs for many, many hours so that they work well. We always ensure that they enjoy what they do. We are eternally grateful to our dogs for giving us this wonderful opportunity to meet people we would otherwise never have had the pleasure of interacting with.”

Lesley and her team train dogs and their handlers according to a very strict skills and aptitude test. This also goes hand in hand with the dog’s obedience and temperament.

Any dog can become a therapy dog and people who interact with these dogs relate differently to each dog.

“The moment people, young or old, interact with a therapy dog their whole being changes. They become animated, excited and even emotional. They start talking to other people about their own animals and exchange stories and tales about their four-legged friends.”

Lesley says that PFP has a very full programme, for which they are so thankful, but volunteers and donations are always needed.

“If you would like to bring your dog to be used as a therapy dog, we will assess you and your dog, and start with the training process. However there are also other means of becoming involved.”

Their main responsibility is to ensure that their dogs are in perfect health, of excellent temperament, trained to the highest possible standard and above all that they love people and other animals.

“We want to dispel any negative beliefs people have about domestic animals and bring joy to old and young alike, through the basic means of a loving and willing dog,” concludes Lesley.

If you would like more information about PFP or how to become involved in their programmes, contact Lesley on 011 768 3643.