Written by Patricia Gay Tuesday, 22 November 2011 12:18 After having 19 pups as a brood for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind program, one might think Lumina the golden retriever would quietly retire to the doghouse. But at the ripe old age of seven, the kind-hearted canine has a second act up her collar. Lumina and her owner, Ginger Jespersen of Heritage Lane, are now working together as a volunteer therapy team for the Good Dog Foundation, the largest animal-assisted therapy organization on the East Coast. Ms. Jespersen and Lumina visit schools, libraries, nursing homes, hospitals and community centers to help enhance the quality of people’s lives. “Good dogs are good medicine,” Ms. Jespersen said. The pair recently participated in the Reading with Rover program at the Mark Twain Library in Redding. The program allows children to practice their reading skills by reading aloud to specially trained therapy dogs like Lumina. “The goal is to create a positive, non-threatening and fun environment to facilitate reading. Children are happy to read to dogs, and dogs are never going to tell them they’re wrong,” Ms. Jespersen said. On other occasions, the team might visit cancer patients at Norwalk Hospital. Because some patients are freezing cold from their treatment, holding and patting Lumina is like a fur coat to them. Lumina also gives patients a sense of optimism and happiness. “People just love her, and she loves their attention. In fact, I think Lumina loves people more than dogs, so I am happy to share her with them,” Ms. Jespersen said. Lumina has led an exceptional life as a service dog. Because of her gentle personality and exemplary behavior, she was selected as a breeder for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind program. Several of her 19 puppies and 13 grandpuppies have become a second set of eyes and companion service dogs for the blind and visually impaired. “Lumina is very special because most dogs in that program are Labs or German shepherds. Very few are golden retrievers,” Ms. Jespersen said. Magnetic After Lumina retired from Guiding Eyes, Ms. Jespersen realized her services could be further utilized. “I would take Lumina to Weston schools on occasion and noticed that people were drawn to her. There is something about the presence of a well-behaved and friendly dog that is magnetic,” Ms. Jespersen said. So Ms. Jespersen decided to volunteer for The Good Dog Foundation. She found working as a therapy team filled a need for Lumina to interact with people. It has also filled a personal need for Ms. Jespersen, as well. “As a family, we’ve always been oriented toward volunteering and giving back to the community. Near and dear to me are the needs of children with disabilities, shut-ins, and seniors. During Tropical Storm Irene, I volunteered at the comfort station at the middle school and brought Lumina with me. People who were distressed lit right up when they saw her. She made them smile,” Ms. Jespersen said. The Good Dog Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 by Rachel McPherson, a film and television producer who fell in love with therapy dog services while making a documentary about them, according to Moschell Coffey, the foundation’s director of communications. Good Dog provides animal-assisted therapy in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and has 1,100 active certified therapy teams. The teams made more than 300,000 visits to help others last year. “We not only make sure that all the dogs are trained extensively, we also act as liaisons to coordinate visits for the teams,” Ms. Coffey said. Local visits Locally, 14 Good Dog therapy teams visit Greenwich public schools on a regular basis to help children in reading and special needs programs. At Norwalk Hospital, therapy teams work in four areas: oncology, pediatrics, geriatrics and psychiatrics. In order to keep the dogs from being overworked, each therapy session is kept to 45 minutes. Because Lumina was already an experienced service dog, she was immediately placed at the senior training level in the program with executive trainer Heather Trocola. Lumina passed the training with flying colors. Ms. Jespersen also did her share of homework. She visited venues before bringing Lumina to them to make sure she was familiar with them and could teach Lumina about them. “There was especially a lot to learn at Norwalk Hospital,” Ms. Jespersen said. Lumina had to get used to wheelchairs, walkers, riding elevators, and going in and out of patients’ rooms. “But she was a quick learner,” Ms. Jespersen said. Noah At the Reading With Rover event, Ms. Jespersen met fellow Westonite Stephen Champtaloup with his greater Swiss mountain dog, Noah. Mr. Champtaloup and five-year-old Noah, a large, tongue wagging dog, received Good Dog certification a few months ago. The Redding event was their first outing as a therapy team. “Noah loves everyone,” Mr. Champtaloup said. Swiss mountain dogs are known to be very loyal and make excellent companions. “They like to be by your side at all times. That is especially true about Noah. If you ever want to go to the bathroom by yourself, this is not the breed for you,” Mr. Champtaloup said. Because of Noah’s social and calm demeanor, he is well suited as a therapy dog. Mr. Champtaloup noticed that Noah interacts well with his wife Jill’s parents, so he is looking forward to interacting with seniors. He has noticed that teenaged girls are attracted to Noah as well. At the Reading with Rover event, his only concern was that children might attempt to climb on Noah and try to ride him, but they didn’t. “Our first outing went very well,” he said. To learn more about therapy dogs and the Good Dog Foundation, visit thegooddogfoundation.org. Next >