My Pet Partners registered therapy dog Macy and I are volunteering at the Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center in Bonham TX doing Animal Assisted Therapy. We are working with physical therapist Jennifer Johnson and her patients. Some play with her, some brush her and some just pet and love on her. We are getting smiles in a place that has too few. In addition to using Macy for range of motion exercises, Jennifer is using Macy as enticement to draw patients out of their rooms and come to the recreation room. Some residents want to stay in their rooms all day so this Macy is a way for them to work on group exercises and socialization.

Written by Rick Huntoon