Congratulations to Jewel, Lakewood's newest registered therapy dog. She plans to visit people at Total Longterm Care on Alameda Avenue in Lakewood and other facilities.

What do therapy dogs do?

They are part of a team, with the other member of the team being the dog's owner or handler. They visit people in hospitals, nursing homes, schools or other facilities where the visit can be beneficial to people. Delta Society, a pet therapy organization, provides the following information on their website (www.deltasociety.org)

"Family members often come during the animal visits and some have reported that it is an especially comfortable and pleasant time to come.

Mental stimulation occurs because of increased communication with other people, recalled memories, and the entertainment provided by the animals. In situations that are depressing or institutional, the presence of the animals serves to brighten the atmosphere, increasing amusement, laughter, and play. These positive distractions may help to decrease people's feelings of isolation or alienation."

Bernie Siegel, MD, discussed the effects of pets on heart attack victims. Dr. Siegel

has seen firsthand the extraordinary effects animals can have. "People's physiology, their body chemistry, literally changes when pets are around," he says. "Levels of the stress hormone cortisol go down, immune function improves and, perhaps more significantly, serotonin and oxytocin levels increase. These are the same hormones that are elevated in a woman after giving birth, which promote bonding with the new baby."

- Delta Society

Who are Jewel and Gail?

Jewel is a smooth-coated, spayed miniature dachshund; daughter of AKC champions, born in 2004. She is not a show dog-she has the important job of therapy dog. She is gentle and affectionate with people who need her friendship. Jewel passed Denver Pet Partners' therapy dog evaluation, and became a registered therapy dog in February, 2007.

Gail is a pet therapy volunteer who enjoys spending some of her free time sharing her dog with people in need of unconditional love. As the human member of the team, she attended Denver Pet Partners' team training, and became registered as a therapy dog handler with DPP and its national parent organization -Delta Society.

Contributions to Denver Pet Partners are tax deductible.

"Enhancing the lives of people and promoting the human-animal bond through animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy"

Denver Pet Partners
P.O. Box 270113
Littleton, CO 80127
(303) 948-6363