Therapy dogs in Moncton bring comfort and happiness one cuddle at a time

Sue Williamson of Therapy Tailblazers in Moncton says she's not sure who enjoys therapy dog visits the most — the people they visit, the volunteer dog owners or the dogs.

"It's a win-win for everybody," she said.

Therapy Tailblazers is a therapy dog group that visits nursing homes, daycares, schools, universities and hospitals in the Greater Moncton area.

Williamson's been with the group since 2014 and co-ordinates eight to 10 site visits per month in her role as a committee member. 

On Tuesday, the group visited a daycamp in Dieppe. 

"The kids are really appreciative of having pets coming here. It's really rewarding for them," said daycamp educator Sylvie LeBreton.

She said the dogs bring calm to kids with anxiety, and help them feel proud and happy.

One of the Tailblazers visitors was Tulugaq, a standard poodle, with her owner YoAnne Beauséjour Beauchamp.

Beauchamp said she always wanted to have a therapy dog. She worked in the school system in New Brunswick and Nunavut for about 30 years, and said she always wondered why there weren't dogs in schools.

She said even as a puppy, it was clear Tulugaq was a natural.

"She loved everyone and any age people," she said, adding that Tulugaq brings "a sense of calmness" to classrooms.

"It's definitely very rewarding to me. Every time I do any visit, doesn't matter if it's at the senior residence, or wherever we go. It's rewarding," said Beauchamp.

Passing the test

Therapy Tailblazers dogs all go through an evaluation to see how they behave in different situations. For example, some dogs don't like a lot of attention, and if a dog is aggressive with other dogs, it can't pass the evaluation for safety concerns, Williamson said.

She said many of the dogs tend to be large or medium-sized, like Bernese mountain dogs, Newfoundland dogs, and goldendoodles, because often those breeds are more calm and children really like them.

Dogs who visit children under 12 have to go through a second evaluation to make sure they can handle young kids. 

"You don't want a child that's dancing around, and all of a sudden the dog's getting excited, you know, and starts jumping up, reacting, you know, working off the child's energy," she said.

Plus, kids love to hug dogs, and not a lot of dogs like to be hugged or tolerate being hugged, she said.

Visits for all ages and stages

About once a month, Therapy Tailblazers visits people in the adult day program at the YMCA in Dieppe. Williamson said while the participants sometimes remember the dog owners' names, "they always remember the dogs' names."

And while she's seen lots of smiles over the years, she has also witnessed the comfort dogs can provide. 

She said the group has sometimes had therapy dog visit requests after tragic incidents. 

"When they call for volunteers, we always find someone to step up to the plate," she said.

And last year, the group received a special request from a man in palliative care who wanted to see a poodle, she said.

"Luckily enough, we had a poodle and [she] was able to go with her handler and fulfil the gentleman's last wish."

Volunteers needed

Before the pandemic, the group had about 40 volunteers and dogs, said Williamson. But now, the group has just over 20. 

"We lost a lot of our volunteers, either because the people didn't feel comfortable going out into ... public. A lot of dogs have either passed away or, because of COVID, no longer like to go out and mingle with other people," she said.

Therapy Tailblazers does about two evaluations a year. Williamson hopes the upcoming round in October will result in five volunteer owners and their dogs joining the team.