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     Jacqueline, or “Jackie” for short, knows she’s beautiful.  She fully expects everyone to tell her so, and if you don’t, she’ll squint at you until you do. She has a knack for ingratiating herself with people.  Twice a month, she has a good bath, gets her nails done, puts on her red scarf and heads to the convalescent home.  She takes her owner, Sue Roeser, with her.  This tall, white, princess of a Standard Poodle is a pretty special dog.

     Jackie has been working miracles as a therapy dog in convalescent homes, schools and libraries for seven years.  “Jackie is very spiritual.  Put her in a room full of people and she’ll go to the one who needs her most,” says Sue.  She is the perfect height for laying her head upon the lap of someone in a wheelchair.  They can just reach over and scratch her fluffy, white ears. “We spread smiles and joy,” says Sue.  “The dog lets you get into so many places that you wouldn’t get into if you didn’t have the dog.  It really enriches your life and gives you such a depth of understanding for other things when you can just chat with people.  There’s a lot of history in those convalescent homes.”

     Sue began visiting convalescent homes as a hospice volunteer in 1980.  She has been volunteering for Optimal Hospice Care since 2003.  Optimal Hospice is an organization dedicated to helping people in the end stages of life to remain independent and to live each day as fully and comfortably as possible.  Optimal Hospice is excited to add the new pet therapy, CarePals, as a unique and special part of the volunteer services they offer the patients under their care.  “As any pet lover knows, there is nothing more comforting than receiving unconditional love from a cuddly animal.  We are very excited to bring this kind of care to our families.  Optimal is currently searching for other certified/licensed/insured pet therapy teams who are interested in becoming part of our volunteer program.  We are also encouraging our current volunteers to get certified with their pets so they can become part of the CarePals program.  There can never be too many teams – we have a lot of people who could use the love,” says Rhonda Frankhouser, Volunteer Coordinator. 

     Sue is uniquely qualified to help with Optimal’s effort to bring pet therapy to their patients. She began her career as a Medical Assistant in a family practice that specialized in Geriatrics.  Out of compassion and because there was a need to be filled, Sue would sit with her patients after work.  She soon found that helping those facing the end of their lives was a passion of hers.  She has been spending time with dying patients for almost thirty years now. Add to that her love of dogs (she has four!) and pet therapy was a natural progression.  Sue and Jackie as a team are better able to be of service than just Sue alone.  “It is scientifically proven your blood pressure will go down [when you pet an animal],” says Sue.  She’s right.  According to a study by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration, “In the institutionalized elderly there is evidence that pet therapy may reduce depression and blood pressure, reduce irritability, reduce agitation and increase social interaction.”  Sue has witnessed this effect first hand.  Several years ago, she was called to visit a man who was dying and very, very angry.  He wouldn’t allow anyone in to see him, except his nurses.  He was combative, he threw things and for several weeks he refused to talk.  A family member who recalled that the gentleman had lost a beloved poodle a few years earlier, suggested Sue and Jackie come for a visit.  Out of loneliness for his dog, the man agreed.  When Sue and Jackie arrived, he motioned for Jackie to come over.  She obliged.  The two of them went outside.  Then the man did an extraordinary thing.  He lifted up Jackie’s ear and began to talk.  He talked.  And talked.  And talked.  All the while, Jackie sat quietly and listened.  She is excellent at keeping secrets.  Two weeks later, the man died peacefully.  According to his family, after Sue and Jackie’s visit, he was never angry again.

     It’s Jackie’s calm, friendly, non-aggressive behavior that suits her for this line of work.  In order to become a therapy dog, Jackie had to pass a test administered by a qualified Tester/Observer.  It is a three page test that required Jackie to be under Sue’s control at all times.  Jackie had to walk on a loose leash, be able to meet strange dogs, shake hands and many other obedience feats.  Then she was observed three times walking room to room in a convalescent home.  Of course, Jackie passed the test.  She remains up to date on all her shots and tests negative on the fecal check, thereby earning her membership in Therapy Dogs, Inc.  As for her owner, Sue is finishing the process of becoming a Tester/Observer herself.  “Betty Fillmore started the program in Ridgecrest back in 2002 and we were one of the first ones,” says Sue.  It looks like she will also be one of the first ones in the Ridgecrest, Lancaster, and Bakersfield areas qualified to administer the test.  In the meantime, Sue is adding two year old Barley to her team.  He’s a fluffy, white Bichon who began his work as a therapy dog in September.  He’s much shorter than Jackie, but that doesn’t stop him.  He’s known for standing on his back legs and putting his paws on the knees of the person in the wheelchair.  He loves nothing more than to be petted on his soft, furry head.  Jackie and Barley never go to work together since Sue is required to give them her undivided attention when they are on the job.  But one can be certain that tall Jackie is teaching young Barley a thing or two at home. You can also bet that Sue is right there in the mix.  You see, besides the fact that Sue is a great-grandmother, she has more energy than the average twenty year old.  Between tap dancing, acting, stage managing, directing, Beta Sigma Phi, The Red Hat Society and her husband of nineteen years, you might just find Sue and Jackie or Barley happily visiting with your loved one.

     For more information about Therapy Dogs Inc., go to www.therapydogs.com.  For more information about Optimal Hospice Care or becoming a CarePals Pet Therapy Volunteer for Optimal Hospice Care, contact the volunteer department @ 1-661-716-4000 or email rfrankhouser@optimalcares.com.