Chloe and Frankie
by Ilene Lynch

Chloe and Frankie are therapy dogs who work in South Florida. Chloe, a white and brindle boxer, and Frankie, a Large Munsterlander,are best buds. My friend Rachelle got Chloe from the Humane Society last January, and it was love at first sight. Rachelle and I shared Chloe and joined a local therapy dog organization called Share-A-Pet.

Rachelle had some in-house private training and worked with Chloe quite a bit. Chloe passed her therapy dog test and also became an AKC CGC (Canine Good Citizen). We took Chloe to a local nursing home and to a facility with very sick young children. Most of the kids are on a trachea tube and
can’t even speak. But they do smile and make noises, and some of them even pet the dogs. You can
tell they are happy when we come.

Therapy dog training in Pembroke Pines, FL

It’s amazing how much attention we get when we take the dogs to Starbucks or Roadhouse Grill in their therapy dog vests. We try to recruit people to do the therapy dog work, and it seems to be working. A
lot of people say they didn't’t know how to get involved, but are very much interested. People are even getting their children involved as community service projects.

I can’t tell you how much people appreciate us taking the dogs to visit. The older people are so lonely sitting in the nursing homes, and they look forward to these visits. The children also know we come every week. Frankie and Chloe also get excited every Saturday morning when we put their therapy vests on them.

Share-A-Pet also has lots of other types of facilities, one of them being Chris Evert’s Children’s Hospital at Broward General. An older woman friend of mine is testing her Golden Retriever, Simba, soon and she will be performing dog therapy with her neighbor who does alternative medicine and treats cancer patients of all ages. Claudia and Missy are developing a program working with a juvenile rehabilitation program that works with teenage girls. They will be working with Frisbee dogs, getting the girls involved and motivated. Claudia has worked in the past with a group called Horsegate that does therapy work with horses.