Therapy Dog Visit Brings Joy to Family Shelter

Salty Paws Therapy Dogs is a local group that brings trained canines to offer comfort and companionship at elementary schools, assisted living residences and the Cape Cod Alzheimer’s Family Support Center. They recently visited Housing Assistance’s Family Empowerment Center in Dennis.

“The children, the dogs, the humans with the dogs – everyone had a blast,” said Cassi Danzl, chief operating officer for Housing Assistance. “At the end of the visit, we knew we wanted to do it again.”

The therapy dogs were at the shelter for about 90 minutes. “It was time when the families didn’t have to think about everything that is going on in their lives,” said Danzl. “The parents could relax and see their kids smiling and just have a moment outside of the norm. The children were excited for the weeks leading up to it, and they had a great time.”

Salty Paws was connected to the Family Empowerment Center through one of the group’s volunteers, Sherry Bogdanovich, the wife of Housing Assistance board chair Bill Bogdanovich. The couple has a 4-year-old Irish setter named Ranga (an Icelandic word that means beautiful red-haired person) who is one of the group’s 22 dog members.

We do this because we all have wonderful dogs and want to share them, said Sherry Bogdanovich. We go into schools, hospitals and nursing homes and the reactions that we get are amazing. It really seems to make a difference in their day and makes them all very happy.

“We do this because we all have wonderful dogs and want to share them,” said Sherry Bogdanovich. “We go into schools, hospitals and nursing homes and the reactions that we get are amazing. It really seems to make a difference in their day and makes them all very happy.”

The group brought eight dogs to the Family Empowerment Center, and they were an instant hit. The group’s volunteers started by offering guidance on how to interact with the animals (don’t run toward the dogs, for example).

“Once the rules were laid out, there was lots of tail wagging and smiling and some screams of joy,” said Danzl. “The kids had a blast. We didn’t get into all the tricks that the dogs could do on the first visit because the kids were super excited and all they wanted to do was pet the dogs.

Both the dogs and the kids were loving the interaction. I believe the next time they plan on bringing some tunnels and hula-hoops and doing a few tricks. That will be fun. There was one big dog that weighs 180 pounds. When the families saw him, their faces just lit up, and that alone made the whole thing worth getting together.”

“It was wonderful,” Bogdanovich agreed. “The kids had so much fun. It was a little bit of a free for all, but the kids were great. We went in there knowing that there would be quite a few kids and we weren’t exactly sure how they were going to react. They all did a great job and everybody was able to hug and love and play with the dogs.”

Housing Assistance is grateful to Salty Paws Therapy Dogs for bringing joy to the families – and especially the children! – who are currently living in shelter. These types of enriching experiences are truly valuable as their families navigate the hardship of housing instability.

For more information, visit saltypawstherapydogs.org.