Thanks to Karl Schneider for sharing about his special dog Finn. A rescue dog becomes a therapy dog.
"On Saturday October 15th, 2016 a series of events took place that changed our lives forever. My wife Jessica and I went to an adoption event with Henrico Humane Society to meet a dog that we had seen on their website. By the time we arrived, that dog had already met their new family, and was on their way to their new home. As we spoke with a volunteer about our family and what we were looking for, they suggested that we meet a foxhound named Peanut. Peanut had been surrendered by his family when he was having difficulty cohabitating with their young child that had just begun to walk. Peanut wasn't exactly what we were looking for, but he made a strong impression on my wife, so we made arrangements to meet him again with his foster mom and our two dogs. Our dogs, Addie and Schnapps, approved of Peanut, and so we took him home. That day began a journey that we had never dreamed we would be on.
Peanut was a tall and handsome fellow, and we knew that he needed a new name befitting of his stature and presence. We decided to call him Finlaggan, or Finn for short. Finn fit in very quickly with very little of the transition time that often comes with bringing home a rescue dog. He got along well with Addie and Schnapps and deferred to their guidance and leadership. It was quickly apparent that there was something very special about Finn. Up until then, we never had any of our dogs sleeping in the bed with us at night. By day 3, Finn made it clear that's where he expected to be, even though he had a twin mattress on the floor next to Addie's that we thought would be his bed.
Finn was extremely intelligent and was a master manipulator in the most subtle ways imaginable, but he didn't know any of basic commands (sit, stay, lay down, etc...). It wasn't too long before we decided that he needed to put that intelligence to good use and so we joined an 8-week group training class. That decision would turn out to be a game changer. During the evaluation the trainer watched how he interacted with me, and she said something that I will never forget. She said, "Oh, I see what's going on here. He's training you." I was a little taken aback, but after some further discussion I could see that she was exactly right. Training was exactly what he (and I) needed, and he quickly excelled in the class. On the day of his graduation the trainer said something else very important to me. She said, "You may want to look into having him trained as a therapy dog." That thought had never crossed my mind, but I can't overstate how important that one statement was to Finn and I.
We took the trainers advice to heart and went to an information session at the Richmond SPCA for their Paws For Health program. It sounded like something we would want to try, and so we signed him up for more training. We sent him to an intensive 3-week program at Holiday Barn. I can't say enough about what the folks there did for Finn and for me. They made it clear that dog training is not just about training the dog, but almost more importantly, training the human. After the three weeks, he was ready for his therapy dog certification. He needed to take the test twice, because as hounds do, he couldn't ignore the food that was placed on the ground. After some additional practice, we figured it out and he passed his certification.
Shortly thereafter we made our first therapy dog visit to a local nursing home. He did well, but it was obvious that nursing homes were not the sweet spot for Finn. A few months later we got the email that changed everything. We were asked to visit the Behavioral Health Unit at Doctors Retreat Hospital in Richmond. This is where he found his calling. The way he could connect with people was something amazing to watch. I could tell stories for hours about how he would impact people that were dealing with serious mental health issues. He knew exactly who needed him, and how long to stay with them. Some patients would get his attention for just a moment, and others he would stay with for as long as he felt was necessary.
Finn also built a following with the hospital staff. Most patients we would only see one, or maybe two times, but he built lasting friendships with the staff. They could always hear his toenails clicking down the hallway, and I would hear them exclaim “Finn’s here!”. The funny thing to me was that everyone at the hospital knew his name, but very few knew mine, and that was just fine with me. He was definitely the star of the show. I was just his helper!
The news of Finn's impact on people spread quickly, and he soon found himself in the HCA newsletter that goes to all the hospitals in their group. Now we were getting requests not just to visit the BHU at Retreat Hospital, but the entire hospital as well as other hospitals. We started visiting every floor at Retreat on Saturdays, and then we started visiting Parham hospital every Sunday. We kept that routine up for several years until Covid halted all hospital visits.
Covid was hard for many of us, for many reasons. It was also very hard on Finn. He was no longer able to do what he loved, and he missed the friends that he had made at both hospitals. Fortunately, the staffs at both hospitals missed him too, and worked hard to get their administration to allow him to come back and start making visits again. Finn worked for about two more years until it was getting to be too much for him physically. He worked until just past his 13th birthday. The staff at Retreat Hospital even had a retirement party for him.
Fortunately, before he retired from therapy dog work, we had adopted a dachshund that demonstrated many of the same skills that Finn had, so we immediately started training him, with Finn's help of course. Oliver turned out to be a natural, and I know that Finn's support was critical to his development. Oliver will carry on the tradition that Finn started at both hospitals.
On Friday July 26th we said goodbye to Finn. We allowed him to leave in the same way that he lived, with dignity, honor and grace. He will always be remembered, not just by us, but by all those people whose lives he touched over the years."
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