Recently, I have been reading some wonderful books about animal assisted therapy. I know a lot of our members have been involved in animal assisted therapy longer than me and probably know more than me but, we also have quite a few new members that might enjoy this reading material. I think these books would be appreciated by anyone interested in the human/animal connection.

One of the books is Therapy Pets: The Animal-Human Healing Partnership by Jacqueline Crawford and Karen Pomerrinke. This uplifting book describes many compelling stories about the healing animal-human partnership. Hospital rehabilitation programs, physical and occupational therapy sessions, nursing homes, mental healthcare facilities, and hospice programs are some of the settings where dogs, cats, horses, and other animals have helped patients cope with often daunting medical challenges. Of personal interest, VPP member, Lee Gaffney, and her former therapy dog, Molly, are included in this book. Animal assisted therapy volunteers, animal lovers, and anyone who appreciates how animals and humans interrelate, will enjoy this wonderful, truly inspirational book.

Another book I have enjoyed Therapy Dogs Today: Their Gifts, Our Obligation by Kris Butler. As a handler of a therapy pet, I found this book to be very insightful. The author gives a lot of information about building and maintaining the pet/handler relationship. Anyone who wants to become a better pet handler could benefit from this author's experience.

These books and many others are available from Dogwise. The VPP has a link to Dogwise on our website. If you use that link Dogwise will donate a percentage of your purchase to the Visiting Pet Program.

Claire Sommers

Celebrating 21 years of the
Visiting Pet Program!

Come on out and join the fun and help VPP celebrate 21 wonderful years. Soniat Playground in Harahan will again be the site for the VPP Annual Meeting and Family Picnic on Sunday, March 30, 2008 from 1pm-3pm. A map to Soniat Playground is linked below.

All VPP volunteers, certified and probationary, and their family and guests are invited. VPP dogs that have completed certification are invited to attend. Unfortunately, we cannot invite dogs that are not certified through our program. All dogs must remain on leash throughout the entire event and, just like on visits, only one dog per handler. As always, flexi-leashes are not permitted. Certified volunteers are asked to wear their green VPP shirt.

Bring the kids and your own chairs or a blanket to sit on and enjoy an afternoon of fun. VPP will provide sandwiches, snacks and soft drinks. We will have access to two covered shelters and a great play gym for the kids.

Please confirm your attendance (note how many family members will attend) by email to paws4visit@gmail.com. To be sure there is enough food for everyone, we need an accurate head count no later than March 23rd.

We look forward to seeing everyone!

Map to Soniat Playground, Harahan

Cynthia Baucum and Bijou, the Pomeranian Cynthia is retired from a 30 year career with VA Hospitals. She enjoys quilting, sewing, gardening. Bijou has enjoyed taking obedience classes. She likes to play with Cynthia's two parrots.
Kurt Blankenship and Hershey, the black Lab Kurt is an attorney with the largest law firm in Metairie. He is a licensed pilot and active with the Angel Flights organization. Hershey enjoys walks, going to the beach, and visiting the VA Hospice.
Kevin Hand and Hercules, the Rat Terrier Kevin is a Certified Public Accountant. He enjoys spending time with family and friends. He has volunteered for various charities and Loyola University. Hercules loves being with his Human. He enjoys meeting people.
Carl Schindler and Comet, the yellow Lab Carl is a Marketing and Internet consultant who works out of his home. He is also a musician and has volunteered with JDRF. Comet enjoys going for walks and visiting various French Quarter festivals.
Candice Sirmon and Sally, the Lab/Terrier mixCandice is a Civil Rights attorney with the Advocacy Center. She represents individuals with disabilities. She enjoys gardening, clean-ups and playground builds. Candice has volunteered with Big Sisters/Brothers and the Salvation Army. Sally is a rescue. Sally loves going everywhere with Candice. She loves children, and even shares her bed with Candice's niece.

The Visiting Pet Program is adding an exciting Reading to Rover event to our roster of visits.

The latest addition to Reading to Rover sites is participation in the STAIR program. STAIR stands for Starting the Adventure in Reading. STAIR was founded in New Orleans in 1985. They are a non profit, volunteer based children's literacy program. STAIR provides reading tutors to public school second grade students.

Each school year second grade teachers identify students who may be at risk of academic failure. These are children who attend school regularly. STAIR focuses on children who need assistance in reading and whose teachers believe their skills will blossom given one-on-one attention.

According to their summer 2007 newsletter STAIR pre- and post-tested the students they serve. The percentages of STAIR students who scored at or above the 2nd grade level by the end of the school year:
Word Recognition: 78%
Oral Reading: 74%
Listening Comprehension-Vocabulary: 95%
Listening Comprehension-Story: 92%
Reading Comprehension: 75%
STAIR states that in their 22 year history of service, this type of positive testing results are seen at the end of each year.

The Visiting Pet Program is looking forward to partnering with the STAIR program. These Reading to Rover visits will be held on the third Saturday of each month at 10AM. The location will rotate monthly between 3 STAIR sites.

If you are interested in participating in any of the Reading to Rover events please contact Denise Mehurin dmehurin@cox.net or 504-491-9087.

To learn more about STAIR visit their website http://www.stairnola.org