Published: April 04, 2008 04:44 pm            

Therapy dog puts young clients in good moods

WOODWARD — Krystal Lujan likes to work with Bella.

Bella helps put her clients at Western Plains Youth and Family Services in a better mood so they can do their work. Bella is a 4-year-old mutt with the face of an angel. The bird dog, lab and boxer mix has a natural calming effect on troubled children, Lujan said.

“She can be there and they pet her. It gives them something to focus on rather than the issue, or she helps them to open up,” Lujan said.

One specific incident Lujan recalls is a boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“He was pinging off the walls. We brought Bella in, and it was amazing how he would get on the floor and play with her a while. He was able to focus on her, he calmed down and was ready to work,” she said.

Bella sat in the boy’s lap, and he petted her while working with Lujan. She said interaction with Bella changed the boy’s behavior that day and now he asks for her every time he comes. Bella also is used as a reward for those who do well, she said.

Western Plains Director Kevin Evans said he knew Bella would be a good dog for therapy because of her personality and because she is a “mutt.”

“Mutts are much better tempered. She is a little rambunctious, but she will get over that. She will be a big dog, which is also good for kids,” Evans said.

Evans said children like big dogs and can connect with them better. They form a trust with a big animal.

Becky Carty, a therapist at Western Plains, said many of the kids who come there have had traumatic sessions and Bella draws them out. Bella is able to get kids to relax and focus.

Evans said they have never used a therapy dog before. The shelter also has a cat which adopted them and promptly had kittens. Seeing how the kids at the shelter responded to the cat, Evans began to think of having a dog also.

Casie Brittain, a Wester Plains therapist said half of her case load is developmentally disabled individuals. She has used Bella in sessions with them. Often those clients have difficulty expressing themselves due to verbal limitations, and they become frustrated. Bella helps them to relax and lowers the clients’ anxiety.

“Coming here can provoke anxiety because we’re talking about hard issues causing difficulties and having a dog, something they can touch and feel, is the way to relieve the pressure. There is something about the act of petting a dog that is relaxing,” Brittain said.

Bella is still a puppy but will come into a room and lay down and is a very calming factor. The rest of the client’s life may be very hectic, but the clients can just be themselves while at Western Plains.

“There are no expectations placed on them, they can just be who they are,” she said.

Bella came from the Woodward Animal Shelter. A high school group has an annual project of taking a dog from the shelter and auctioning it as a fundraiser. Evans’ daughter, Desa, 15, is a member of that group. She brought Bella home when it was her turn to care for the dog, and Evans thought she would be good for the shelter.

When that idea reached the high school students, they donated Bella to Western Plains and saved another dog from the animal shelter, which they auctioned.

Bella is primarily used to calm kids down and as a reward for good behavior and focusing on their project. She also makes house calls when therapists go to individual homes. Otherwise, she spends most of her time annoying Annie the cat.

Being a puppy, Bella will still jump up on people, but Evans said she will outgrow that.

“She is like a kid and sometimes has to be redirected. The veterinarian said she may get to be 100 pounds,” he said.

Animals listen and don’t talk, they are attentive and non-threatening and non-judgmental.

“Kids come in with their own challenges and she connects with them. She helps us do all we can for them to make their lives be more successful,” Carty said.

When kids come into the shelter and have had a bad day we will do whatever we can to make their day better,” said therapist Karen Harrison.

Harrison recalled one child that would not participate and would not work on any activities. Bella came in and sat on his lap and the boy petted her and he immediately calmed down. Therapists were able to get more out of him than at any previous time.

Evans looks forward to a successful career for Bella.

“In her lifetime, all the kids she will work with it will be overwhelming. She will have a long career,” Evans said.