ENOCH and Lachlan, two boys who receive care at Xavier Respite Service in Yeerongpilly, love when eight-year-old Siberian Husky Drogo visits them.
He wags his fluffy tail against them, bumps their hands with his wet nose and enjoys a good pat behind his ears.
More than just being a tactile experience for the children, Cheryl Laurent, co-ordinator at Xavier Respite Service, said Drogo had a calming influence too.
“He’s really lovely and really gentle, he just seems to know, and nuzzles his way up to the children and puts his chin on their leg or their hand, and stays behind them or sits at their feet – it’s really lovely.”
She said the children made dog biscuits for Drogo one day.
“Which was really nice because we have some children who don’t have any movement and we could place a dog biscuit in their hand and Drogo could come and take it out of their hand,” she said.
“He also got to take a bunch of biscuits home with him which he was happy about.”
Drogo has been able to make fortnightly visits to Xavier thanks to the vision of June McLeish.
Mrs McLeish was able to visit the Xavier Respite Centre on April 12 and see Drogo in action for the first time since he started visits late last year.
She said seeing him interacting with the children made her feel glad she had set up the program.
Being able to do something and see such a positive result was a wonderful thing, she said.
Mrs McLeish has a little dog named Pinky who was the inspiration for the pet therapy initiative.
“We named it in honour of our little Pinky and Drogo is the result,” she said.
“Today has just been lovely to see just how it works and really what a wonderful thing it’s doing for the children, which is very rewarding.”
Mrs McLeish loved dogs – she was a “dog person”, she said.
Dogs seemed to just get along with her, she said, Drogo included – who got plenty of pats from Mrs McLeish.
Enoch and Lachlan presented Mrs McLeish with a gift thanking her for setting up the pet therapy program.
Ms Laurent said most of the children loved having Drogo around.
She said the families of the children did too, and enjoyed seeing photos of them interacting with him.
Mrs McLeish said therapy dogs brought a sense of peace and took children out of their own little enclosed world and gave them something that they wouldn’t have otherwise.
“I think that’s a wonderful thing – to give a little extra pleasure into their lives,” she said.
Mrs McLeish said she would like to see more therapy dogs in action.
“I think it’s something that’s just starting to come into its own, people are beginning to realise what peace and tranquillity they can offer to people in unhappy circumstances.
“Particularly children because their world is so narrow and (Drogo) brings something… there’s no other way I could think of giving it.”
