Today, James returned to Westhampton Elementary School (WES) where he piloted our Reading Buddies Program last spring as an after school activity. He showed me how happy he was to don his therapy dog vest and ID badge by prancing around in circles and wagging his tail. Once suited up, he headed over to the door. He seemed to be saying to me: Hurry up, Let’s go…
My sweet, sweet James, a 12-year-old English Setter, has been in semi-retirement since mid-January. James has had an extensive career as a therapy dog spanning a seven-year period. He started visiting as a certified Bright Spot Therapy Dog at the age of five. Over the past seven years, he has visited in hospitals, nursing homes, mental health facilities, Alzheimer’s units, hospice care, ending as the first Bright Spot Reading Buddy.
At this stage, visiting in healthcare environments is too taxing for my boy. He now prefers lounging on his comfy couch in our family room to lying on patients’ beds in nursing homes. But, his work as a Reading Buddy is very different. He gets to lie down on a comfortable blanket and interact with young children he adores. He loves to listen as the children read their books to him. Reading Buddies is the perfect job for my sweet boy who truly enjoys interacting with people. The mark of a good therapy dog.