This dog is more than just a friend

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News-Sentinal

By K.E. Casey

By Demelza Helms of The News-Sentinel
Zoe is scheduled to have hip replacement surgery this summer.


By Demelza Helms of The News-Sentinel
Vernon Cobbins, right, a student in Melanie Dirig’s class for students with multiple disabilities, throws a balloon for Zoe, a therapy dog, at Northrop High School. Others watching, from left, are Leah Golden, Debbie Roe, Matt Jordan and Anthony Hughes.

Some dogs are more than just best friends: They can be therapists, too.

But Nan Ashton and her therapy dog Zoe don’t sit you down on a leather couch and ask you about your childhood. Instead, Ashton and Zoe delight the children of Melanie Dirig’s multiple disabilities class at Northrop High School.

“There’s just something about dogs and kids,” said Ashton. “It’s a special relationship.”

After reading an article about therapy dogs in The News-Sentinel, Ashton decided to get Zoe, a 120-pound Rottweiler, trained as a canine companion. She said it was only a few months before she had Zoe certified through the Association of Therapy Dogs. Both Ashton and her husband are trained to handle Zoe in therapy sessions.

Because the couple work during the day, the therapy sessions help Zoe as much as the people she visits. As Zoe plays catch and other games, she gets contact that helps make up what she misses while her owners are at work.

Ashton said Rottweilers often get “a bad reputation,” but she said they are “one of the leading therapy dogs” because they are “very gentle and understanding.” She said they train the students in the class on the right way to approach the dogs.

Ashton and Zoe started visiting Dirig’s class in 2005. She specifically wanted to bring Zoe to Northrop because of her strong family ties to the school. Her husband has taught orchestra and jazz at Northrop for 33 years, and her daughter graduated from the school as well.

When Ashton brings Zoe to the classroom, “we just play,” she said. As the children are playing with Zoe, they work on academic skills, such as counting, as well as practice motor skills control. They sometimes play catch or “balloon volleyball,” or use a mitt to brush the dog.

Dirig said she can see definite improvement in the students since Ashton and Zoe started to visit the class.

“To see the change in the kids is neat,” Dirig said. Playing with Zoe helps put into practice the lessons they may learn in class.

When Ashton saw Zoe limping, she took her to the veterinarian and learned she had “severe hip dysplasia.” There were a few options: Ashton could manage Zoe’s pain through medicine (which could damage the dog’s liver), or the dog could have minor surgery, or have the entire hip replaced.

Because Zoe is so young, Ashton “figured it was worth the investment” to go for the entire hip replacement.

To help raise money for their canine friend’s surgery, Dirig’s class baked dog biscuits and sold them for a dollar. The children helped to roll out the dough, and then used cookie cutters to create the dog-biscuit-shaped, peanut butter treats. Dirig hoped her class would raise $500. But as the donations started rolling in, the class actually raised about $1,800 for Zoe.

Zoe is scheduled to have surgery June 22, take the summer to rehabilitate and, Ashton hopes, be ready to visit the students again next year.

Ashton and Zoe also work at St. Anne’s Nursing Home. She said the residents often tell her stories about their own dogs. Living in a nursing home, “the one thing they miss is their dog,” Ashton said.

“It’s just amazing how much joy she brings to people,” Ashton said.