Britney, Lost and Hound's owner, and her dog, Milo, have been a registered pet therapy team since January of 2016. As a team, they volunteer at memory loss facilities and with children's programs.
A typical pet therapy visit, as Milo sees it: walk into building, sniff for crumbs, eat crumbs, find feet, sit next to feet, get ears rubbed, lick the carpet in hopes of finding more crumbs, perform trick, get a treat, give a kiss, lay down, get belly rubbed, go home.
That’s what Milo sees. I’m lucky enough to witness so much more on these visits. I get to witness how the speckles on Milo’s legs remind a patient with dementia of the freckles on his wife’s nose after a long day spent at the beach years ago. I get to hear this story three times in a row, each time told with more emotion than the last. I get to witness the smile on a child’s face as Milo, almost instinctively, seeks out the child sitting alone in the corner… every time. I get to witness so much more than just a dog walking into a building and sniffing for crumbs, I get to witness people coming to life. And sometimes, that’s all I need after a long day, too.
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