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I appreciate good dental hygiene and mustaches. I drink a lot of coffee.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Must love dogs.

Do you know what my favorite thing in the whole wide world is? My dogs. My puppy's name is Pickle and the old fart is Sally. They're both dumber than rocks but I love them. Do you have any pets? Do they seem to just chipper up your day? Make you feel relaxed and comforted? Well in Tyler, Texas the people of Smith County are using a dog's ability to sooth to help abused children. Check out the video below and see how a dog named Macy is bettering that community and helping children at risk.


Dog helping children suffering abuse.





Discussion Questions: How did this video make you feel? What is your opinion on this kind of therapy? How does it inspire you? Why do you think that Macy has such a positive effect of the children? Prosecutor April Sikes said (about Macy), "She does thing that we just can't do," what kind things do you think she is referring to? Why do you think Macy has this ability to console like humans cannot? Do you see this kind of therapy working long term? Why or why not? Is this something that you would want to implement in your community? How important do you think it is that Macy is of no cost to the taxpayers? Do you think this program is would be worth additional costs? In what circumstances would a support dog not work? Are there any other constructive alternatives you can think of that would make a child's time testifying more comfortable? 


*This is my puppy Pickle. She's out of commission do to knee surgery. Not that she is as well trained as Macy by any means but she's pretty gosh darn adorable.*

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1 comment:

  1. triciagFebruary 23, 2011 at 4:40 PM

    What a wonderful article and video! Thank you for sharing them. I went to the Canine Companions for Independence website after reading the above. What an amazing organization!
    As to your discussion questions:The video felt heartwarming to me. I think one of the reasons that these victimized children automatically respond to a friendly dog like Macy is because there are no trust issues involved. She offers pure affection with no strings attached. And a dog like this is so responsive to their human companions.I would love to see this implemented in every community in the country! The "free to taxpayers" element is important, especially in our current economy. A program like this is largely volunteer, including the people who breed and raise the dogs. So many people are dog lovers so there is probably no shortage of people who would help out if awareness of this program were raised- which is just what you're doing!
    And finally, Pickle seems to be resting comfortably- she looks very cute recovering from her surgery...

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