I received a message from a gal named Linda who told me about something I must share here at Muttshack ...  she said ...

There is a network of animals that visit hospital wards and mental health institutes. The animals are adopted from the shelters because they are unlikely to get homes. They have had their own surgeries or handicaps. This liability makes it easier for the patients to relate to them and they will often open up in the presence of the animal when they were unable to talk about their pain and frustration before.

The person who trains animals that have been discarded and given another chance to be adopted is called "Lucky Dog". They work it here through the prison.

The woman who runs that program works with another group that trains puppies to prepare them to be trained as seeing eye or hearing helper dogs. Usually, 4-H members take on an animal for training for six months as part of this program.

The one who goes to the institutions and visits schools where there are psychologists and visits clinics and nursing homes is called ..There's two...Dogs for Mental Health and Minds for Mutts. These animals are chosen from shelters and insured to go out into public and trained to be petted by strangers.

The ones at the cancer hospital have their own animals. They gave it a particular name but it seems to have slipped my mind. These animals are chosen because they have been afflicted in some way that patients can relate to. One dog lost a leg to cancer. A cat lost an eye to lack of circulation from a tumor.

Anyway, there seems to be more ideas every day. People are beginning to look at animals as more than monetary liabilities and starting to understand the healing power of a companion that gives unconditional love.

Let's hope that it keeps happening. --Linda

She also sent another message / reply to me -- here's part of it:

The veterinarians in town house very ill animals that have been picked up. If no one calls after they are nursed back to health, they are "farmed out" to homes that care for them and are put on a list to be adopted.

I'm going to find out where Linda lives, as she refers to these things in her area.  Will let you know!  And I hope she joins Muttshack (I invited her to!)

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One incredible Dog! Lady is part of the Moo Press' new Early Reader series honoring real-life canine heroes.  This is what the qualifications are for a good therapy dog: No biters allowed! It also shows, what the “pluses” are in the job description. A few of these: lying quietly on chemo patients’ beds when kids like Rosie are too drained to play; exercising with elderly patients and having a “ball” at work every day (how many humans can say that?); doing tricks such as praying (perhaps to the Great Omnipotent Dog Spirit?) and rolling over; donning a red kerchief to make patients smile; and wagging her tail while snuggling with appreciative kids. Wouldn’t we all like to have those job skills, and isn’t it sad we can’t put them on our resumes instead of “Exceeded sales quotas this quarter”?

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just love these stories and hope more will be posted to read about.  after reading the first one, i searched the internet and found a couple sites that I thought would be helpful...

http://www.sarahandicaps.org/
http://www.loveandbalance.org/whatis.htm

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