Sheryll Barker, president and co-founder of non-profit Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs, has always been a dog person.
After finishing graduate school, she went to work at UT Southwestern, where she met Barbara Wilson. In 2003, the two of them founded Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs. Wilson has since passed away, but Barker continues to lead the organization and bring joy to people through therapy dogs.
“[The dogs] just bring a smile to people’s faces,” Barker said. “They’re an icebreaker, and can make people smile or make people feel more at ease.”
Therapy dogs serve as a companion to help to bring support and compassion towards people in difficult situations.
“I have seen therapy dogs positively affect many patients who have been ill or suffered life changing injuries,” Emily Maze, the Market Director of Inpatient Rehabilitation for Medical City Healthcare, said. “They often console patients and provide comfort during a difficult time.”
The dogs are used in a variety of situations such as comforting medical patients, visiting students and even attending therapy sessions.
“We always encourage patients to interact with the dogs,” Maze said. “Sometimes we would even invite a patient to play with the dog during a therapy session, and this opportunity to have some lighthearted play during a session can bring this joy that goes beyond just the short time they visited.”
In order for a dog to become certified as a licensed therapy companion, they have to go through specific training, including tracking.
“We would have our son go around the corner somewhere just so he was not in sight and then the dog would have to find my son,” former therapy dog owner Michelle Mazon said.
Depending on the type of service the dog is expected to perform and the personalized needs of their owner, they may train in a variety of ways.
“[My son] has epilepsy and he’s one of those autistic children that like to run away,” Mazon said. “His dog, Thunder, was trained to track him so it was more or less his own search and rescue dog.”
In addition to individual service, therapy dogs are more in demand for groups and communities during certain times of the year. This is mostly due to heightened stress levels during the seasons of winter and fall.
“With the seasons changing, stress levels in the community go up and the need for the therapy dogs goes way up too,” Barker said.
One of the especially high demand times is high school exam season, where the stress of midterms and finals can weigh heavily on students.
“Finals weeks get out of control. The dogs were very busy,” Barker said. “We always get more requests during finals weeks than we can possibly accommodate.”
An obvious obstacle of the therapy dog method is that it only works if the person in need is fond of dogs. If a person doesn’t like dogs or is afraid of them, then there is a very low probability that the dog will be able to help.
“One time at UT Southwestern, the elevator opened up and the woman that was on the elevator was so scared of dogs, she freaked out and pushed the door close button,” Barker said.
For those who like dogs, however, the impact that a therapy dog can bring in a short amount of time can be extremely beneficial.
“We’re obviously not the medication that cures cancer or the medication that actually cures any diseases,” Barker said. “But we can certainly improve mental outcomes.”
