Zinnia is turning into a great therapy dog. What makes a great therapy dog?

Training, of course, intense socialization, good breeding, but most of all, I think it comes from the dog’s heart. The minute I came home from surgery, and as soon as I began isolating, Zinnia’s demeanor changed.

Since then, she sits quietly by me, follows me wherever I go, including to the bathroom, and lies by my side in bed when I am sleeping or resting.

I trained Zinnia intensely when she came to us. When she was a puppy, I brought her into the Mansion and Bishop Maginn High School to grow up around the very people she would be visiting.

I exposed her to people of different colors, ages, and sizes and all kinds of noises – garbage trucks, busses, traffic, farm animals, cows, and horses.

Lenore Severni of Stonewall Farms has been breeding Labs for temperament and health for more than 30 years. She is one of the best breeders I’ve known, and it shows in Zinnia.

I told her about the dog I wanted and needed, and that was precisely the dog that I got.

The best breeders can do that for you. They want to match people and dogs in the right way.

Zinnia has an intuitive sense of need. When she goes to the Mansion, she goes right to the saddest person. If any child is crying at Bishop Maginn, Zinnia will spot them.

When I fell, she brushed up against me and offered herself a stool for me to climb upon. She does not react to loud noises, sirens, gunfire, people shouting. She never jumps on or climbs on people, she offers them her head and nuzzles.

She is so gentle and approachable we use her to help some kids overcome their fear of dogs.

I’ve been weary this week as I recover from various medical procedures and changes in medication. Zinnia lays at my feet or puts her her head on my shoulder while I’m in bed. We nap together.

I don’t have to ask her or train her to do these things; it is her nature.

The greatest quality of a good therapy dog is a sense of surety and grounding. They don’t rattle, are not skittish, and have some innate feeling for need. They must be trainable and have a human who is willing to do that hard work.

They must have instant and precise responses to commands – sit, stay, come, lie down. A nice dog at home may not be a good therapy dog.

For me, there is zero-tolerance for mistakes in my work with therapy dogs. If they jump on anyone, bark suddenly, pull or run into people,  grab food, one mistake is all they get.

I’m used to training therapy dogs but not having one. This is a good practice for me, and it helps me understand better therapy dogs and the amazing impact they have on people in need.

A therapy dog, above all, has to have a good heart and an instinct to soothe and heal. You can’t train a dog for that.

Oddly, for the next week or so, I’ll be a person in need. I’m seeing what a good therapy dog means for me.