Skylar Genesta cautiously approached Fiona. But in a little more than the time it takes to snap your fingers the 3-year-old little girl and Fiona, a Golden Doodle therapy dog, made a connection.
Fiona wagged her tail and Skylar gently stroked the dog.
“I think she likes you,” Fiona’s owner, Jamie Cooke told Skylar. “She’s wagging her tail.”
Fiona is a trained therapy dog, said Cook, who brings the dog every Tuesday to a children’s reading program allowing youngsters to pet the dog and enjoy a soothing experience at Ritter Library in Vermilion.
She also brings Fiona to the library on the third Saturday of every month so kids who participate in a Pokemon league can bond with her.
“Her job is just to be well-mannered and lovable and pettable and to just be a nice dog,” Cooke said of Fiona’s role as a therapy dog.
Cooke and Fiona went through a series of classes sponsored by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs to become certified. Now the two go to places like hospitals, schools, and libraries where Fiona provides relaxing interactions for humans who might be in mental crisis or just want a chance to chill out.
Alliance of Therapy Dogs has been around for 30 years, according to the organization’s website.
“Our objective is to form a network of caring individuals and their special dogs who are willing to share smiles and joy with people, young and old alike,” is how the organization describes its mission.
During a recent visit to the library, Fiona was amazingly calm.
She never barked, and bonded seemingly instantly with whomever she has physical contact.
A red vest she wears identifies her as a therapy dog.
Cooke explained Fiona can go on elevators, to high school football games, and inside schools, and remain calm.
Cooke is associated with the organization known as Riley’s Angels, which provides therapy dogs to a variety of locations in the area, including hospitals, schools, and senior living communities. The duo operates as a team.
“Research shows that when you pet a dog your heart rate slows down. It calms you down,” Cooke said.
Interestingly, Cooke said, research has shown that test scores improved for stressed-out students who had access to a therapy dog during testing.
“We went out to EHOVE once and spent the day out there. We’ve gone to Edison High School and set up in a room there and just allowed students to come out and pet a dog,” Cooke said.
Cooke got interested in therapy dogs after coming in contact with one while working as a special education teacher in the Keystone Local School District.
“I got intrigued and I thought that was something I could do, “ said Cooke.
Cooke and Fiona both like to meet people, Cooke said, which makes them a good fit for the gig. The two receive no pay for their efforts, although being certified by ATD covers them both insurance-wise.
During her Jan. 21 visit to Ritter, Fiona met with a group of kids in the Pokemon club.
“We got a couple of pets there,” said Cooke, who retired a few years ago.
Fiona was somewhat hard to train because she was not motivated by snacks.
“Just a lot of love and attention,” helped train her, Cooke said.
And now Fiona is giving that back to others.
