Niva and I have completed 20 therapy visits in our handler and therapy dog career so far! The last time I posted extensively about therapy work with Niva was after our training and first visit. Now that we’ve settled in, I thought I’d share some thoughts.

Therapy is work is what I thought it would be like, only better. I always imagined how fulfilling it would be to bring joy to people’s lives in the form of visits from a therapy dog, but to actually experience it is just out of this world joyful.

We’ve visited a daycare, retirement home, library, museum, and school for Deaf children. While we’ve done multiple visits at the facilities I mentioned, our favorite place is the school for Deaf children. It’s where we put our focus and priority for scheduling. In turn, we have formed deep bonds with the children and staff there and it’s so special.

When we were training, the instructors told everyone in the course that their dog would probably have a niche. Some dogs are perfect for visiting elderly people because they are small and can sit on their laps, other dogs are very aware and calm and do well in hospitals around medical equipment. Over and over again, the instructors told me they thought Niva’s niche was with kids and they couldn’t have been more correct.

Niva is a wild, fun, happy dog at home and she lives with two young kids. But when I put on her special harness that we use only for therapy work, she’s a different dog. She’s still happy and eager, but she knows she’s going to be working and is much more calm and gentle.

I saw a therapy dog t-shirt on Etsy that said something like “I’m just here to hold the leash” and I thought that was so true. Niva has the magic. Yes, we are a team and work together, but she’s the one bringing all the happiness!

Our bond has strengthened. When we’re working she checks in with me via eye contact a lot and it’s so sweet to experience. It feels like a big responsibility for me to manage everything we’re doing–making sure Niva is comfortable with petting, communicating with those around us, and giving Niva direction–but it’s what we trained for! It’s very clear to me now that I am Niva’s person and I love that. There’s nothing like knowing that your dog just simply loves and trusts you.

While I’m Niva’s person and our bond is strong… she’s still her. She’s not a robot dog with no personality. When she’s off duty she catches rabbits, chases raccoons, and escapes our yard. About once a week, she finds a way out of our fence and I think she’ll be gone forever and all this will be over. Then she shows up about an hour after a joy run around the neighborhood and I crumple with relief. Even though having a husky is a lot, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m glad the extensive training hasn’t made her personality diminish in any way.

Personally, it has been enriching to have our own thing. Everyone says that having kids can make you feel like you lose yourself. I feel more like my true self since having kids, I just don’t have as much time to express that these days! But our weekly therapy visits are a small taste of doing something that I enjoy and always have: serving others and being with my dog. It has been a blessing.

Many people think that therapy work is all about helping others, but it has also helped me. I just can’t have a bad day when I’m on the end of a leash and Niva is getting belly rubs by multiple children who are squealing with joy.

There have been hard and happy moments. All of the therapy dog and handler teams get a weekly email with visits that we can sign up for and it’s always devastating to see the trauma response requests. It’s a special responsibility and privilege to be asked and trusted to enter into other’s grieving and be a small part of that moment in their life.

We have a lot of funny moments, too. Like when people ask me what our fee is for visits. I’m always like “Fee?! We do this for free and for fun!” and it’s the truth. On visits with kids, they say the funniest things and ask the best questions: When does she poop? Can she drive a car? What are those claws on the side of her paws? I love it.

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To sum it all up, we’re 20 visits into our therapy work and I hope and pray we have thousands more visits ahead of us. It’s better that I dreamt it could be and I think Niva is enjoying it as well 🥰