Baxter’s Journey

Getting my blood drawn has always been something I hate doing and causes me anxiety. One day when I was in the hospital waiting to get my blood drawn feeling very scared when a little Yorkie walked over to me donning a therapy vest. I felt my body slightly relax and petting him put a smile on my face. This experience inspired me to train my dog Baxter as a therapy dog. Baxter is a 7-year-old Golden Retriever and is the sweetest most caring dog you will ever meet. I knew he too could bring a smile to others.  In 2021, I worked with Baxter as his handler to become a certified therapy dog. 

Baxter was certified through a company called Dog B.O.N.E.S (Welcome to Dog B.O.N.E.S (therapydog.info).  The primary purpose of this organization is to provide well trained, affectionate, obedient, registered and insured therapy dog teams for visitation to nursing facilities, hospitals, rehab centers, schools, libraries, and any other location where they may provide therapeutic contact with the elderly, the disabled, or the young. In order for Baxter and I to be certified, we had to attend 4 classes and then successfully complete a set of tasks. These tasks included walking around a wheelchair and walker without jumping or barking, sitting/lying on command and leaving objects alone as he passed such as food. He successfully completed all of these tasks!

Since Baxter has been certified we have gone to nursing homes and adult day care centers where residents have the opportunity to visit and see Baxter. It is so rewarding to see the smiles on the faces of the people we visit!