National Therapy Animal Day: Celebrating Sophie
Me & my bright-eyed girl!
Do you have a therapy dog? Yesterday, I took Sophie for her annual free eye exam. She’s a Therapy Dog, and the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) offers a free National Service Animal Eye Exam. Last year in New York, we just moseyed into Blue Pearl Veterinary Hospital, waited our turn and had our exam. But this year in Florida, it was a whole to do! It’s National Therapy Animal Day and I’m celebrating my girl!
We arrived to see Dr. Robert Swinger at the VCA Animal Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. Dr. Swinger is part of the Animal Eye Guys (cute, right?). We had Jasper in tow for moral support. We encountered about 20 service dogs in the parking lot of all shapes and sizes. After greeting them all, we were treated to a special program.
One of the police officers came to demonstrate how important it is to take care of our service animals. He brought his K9 unit partner, Boss, a beautiful Belgian Malinois, and told us about the important, and sometimes dangerous, work Boss does. But first, we saw his softer side. Here is Boss saying good afternoon to us all.
He showed us how Boss followed commands implicitly, even bringing out the bite sleeve they use to train K9 dogs. He said Boss viewed the bite sleeve as he would a favorite toy, and you could see, he never took his eyes off of it. When the officer gave the command, Boss lunged ferociously at the sleeve on the officer’s arm, clamping down so hard, the officer was able to swing Boss around him with his paws off the ground! It was wonderful to see the bond between the officer and his dog, who he’d had since Boss was a puppy (he’s now 9).
My husband and I were amazed Jasper was so so well-behaved amongst all of these strange dogs and people, even with the intense energy of Boss. Sophie had her eye exam and, thank goodness, her eyes are very healthy. Even though Sophie has selective vision when I want her to look at or do something (therapy dog or not), our little munchkin’s eyes are perfect.
An unexpected but fun day, celebrating therapy animals and services dogs of all kinds.
What kind of service animal do you have?
