Mom I want to be a therapy dog when I grow up! - Pepe interviewing her idol Goldie

As the first face and mascot of Animal Angels I will be passing the baton on to Pepe, one of gorgeous young and promising therapy dogs in training. A one year old golden retriever, she is born to therapy dogs blond mom Kiara and dad Scotty. As Pepe starts to walk in my shoes, she has so many questions running through her head. She shoots some off to me and I try and answer them patiently. Excerpts:

You are my hero Goldie. How long have you been a therapy dog?

It will be seven years in March 2013! I began training with Minal when I was two month old. It seems like such a long time ago, but I remember it like yesterday when she first took me to the special child and taught me how to work with him.

Me and little Pepe

What is the training process like? How long does it go on?

Depending on how quick you are to learn, the training takes approximately a year if you start as a pup. As a puppy you have to learn to enjoy being with new people, in new places, being petting by strangers, playing gently without hurting people etc. You also learn about obedience and communication. It’s not as tough as it sounds. It only means you should learn to talk and understand your handler. Coz many times when you are actually working with a patient, you don’t have time for the commands and signals. It just takes a look for me to understand what my handlers –Aakash or Minal- want and for them to understand what I want. It is this communication and understanding that is key to being a successful therapy dog.  

After that you start your training on field. You learn about children who are different in the way they talk, walk, look and understand and you learn to be compassionate with all. You meet people who are sad or sick and you learn to cheer them up. You may not get all of it at first but you should learn to rely on your senses to help.

Any particular incident from your work that has stuck with you?

I remember when I was still in training, I had accompanied my hero, therapy dog Kutty, to a programme where we met people who had survived or lost their loved ones in a train blast. The scenario was very new for me. Till then I had mostly worked with children. Kutty went into the room first, calm, confident, greeting everyone with a tail wag, letting everyone pet her at their own pace.  When I entered, the room it felt so emotionally charged up, it seemed like people had been crying. I was nervous, didn’t know how to react. Plus I had never been with so many people. But I followed Kutty’s and Minal’s lead. I learned that even though the people were sad and grieving, they were very happy to see us. Our wagging tails gave them a reason to smile. I learned to relax, to understand that our touch and our wags were helping heal their sorrow. That really made me grow.....as a therapy dog.

Do you think I can become a very good therapy dog? What qualities do I have that suit it?

I can tell, you are already on the path, that’s why Minal and Aakash have already started taking you for visits. You are gentle, obedient and patient. You are learning to observe the humans around you and to respond to their emotions. Most of the times, humans don’t even realize what emotion they are going through. It is our role to make them realize it and help them through it. All these qualities are a must because as therapy dogs, we work with children and adults who are ill or hurt or sad. Just being there quietly, letting them pet us or read to us and wagging our tails makes a world of difference to these humans.

Pepe in training

Don’t you feel like running with the children? Barking in delight and jumping when the child reacts as you want him/her to?

When you see people in trouble, doesn’t your heart just melt? Mine does. I know I have to wait and be patient when a child takes forever to try and pick up a ball or trying to show me something. I recognize the trouble some kids have in reading which I don’t criticize. I also know when adults and children have been hurt and I know it is my job to pep them all up, to build confidence, to show love and to make them care about themselves.  So yes, I do feel like whooping in joy when the treat comes to me from the scared little hesitant hands and I do so want to encourage and lick some children who have shown remarkable progress but I know it can scare them and that would be a disaster. So I let them take the lead and follow them happily.  That’s what training teaches you.

We do feel like jumping and barking sometimes. It’s not what many people think that therapy dogs can’t have fun, that they are not allowed to jump, bark, beg and misbehave. We can be spoilt and pampered pets who roll in the mud or jump in excitement when we see our loved ones. It’s just that we know the difference in being rough with our owners and being gentle with the patients. We are professionals and can switch our roles from being a pet to being a thera-pet.

Is working with children different from working with adults?

Not very much except that adults listen lesser than children. Often, adults take longer to unwind as compared to children. The good bit here is that neither can pretend to be somebody or something else with us. If they are sad they let it show as they d when they are happy. Our job is always to pep them up. 

What is your secret to success?

Like I said, it is all about getting into the mood.  At home or at work, it is very important to put everything that’s in your head aside and to just stay calm.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I love to meet children and to see the smiles on their faces when I just wag my tail. I love to see them squeal in excitement when I catch a ball in mid air. And these are children who may not get a chance to smile or play like other normal children. I feel that my presence makes their life better.

It’s tough to say what I enjoy most....but it would be the fact that like everybody at home has a job, I have many: I guard my home and love the people there as well as take care of so many others across Mumbai! 

What do you do to relax?

I like a good massage and brushing from my mom, Meenu Srivastav. I also like to sleep in my balcony among the plants, watching pigeons. 

Does exercise and eating a healthy diet help?

You must eat healthy and exercise regularly for your mind and body. I have a healthy amount of protein in my diet along with fruits and vegetables. I love to eat coconut and pomegranate, carrots, cucumber and apples along with a good meal made by Meenu Srivastava. I go for walks in the morning with my mom or dad. Walking and running together with your owner is the best exercise. It helps both to remain fit. We also go on the hill for a small trek sometimes.

Can I also recruit? What qualities should I look for in my friends so that I know they are capable of joining Animal Angels?

Of course you can and in fact Pepe you must. We need more angels to spread the cheer!

We need dogs who are:

• Confident
• Friendly
• Obedient
• Not scared of strangers or new places
• Non-aggressive
• And most importantly CUTE! (naa, just kidding)

You can be of any breed, any size and any age (above one year) as long as you are confidant, compassionate and obedient.

What message would you give out to budding therapy dogs like me?

Keep spreading the love, one wag at a time.

Written by Uma Karve (with inputs from Minal Kavishwar, Meena Srivastav and Aakash Lonkar)To know more about animal assisted therapy log on to www.animalangels.org.in

Join us at Animal Angels Foundation

Me and my human Tanya Srivastav


I joined the Animal Angels gang about 8 years ago. I was a pup back then and didn't understand much. But this is the single most important thing that has not only changed my life but has also defined my life. My human family loves me, but they also know that this love can help someone else heal. Together we spread the love through wags and licks. It doesn't matter if you are a dog, a cat, a bird, a horse, or a fish, we all have the same quality of understanding human emotions (a bit more than humans themselves).

So join us in our mission to spread the love and healing power of us pets with those in need.

My Guru - Kutty, India's first Therapy dog

They say, if you want to learn the good stuff, learn it from the master. A puppy learn to give a paw, fetch the ball, roll over, poop at the right place, not to chew the furniture etc, but I learned many more things that that. When i was just a frisky little puppy, I used to play with this super cool dog who used to come to a special school in front of our house. She was Kutty a big golden Lab. When I grew up I came to know that she was Kutty - India's first Therapy dog. The school had a big garden where we used to play. I was still very playful and naughty, doing crazy things like chasing my tail , running after butterflies etc. But Kutty was very patient with me, nudging me with her nose when I would stumble, bowing down on front paws calling me to play. They also had a pond in the garden which had little fish in it. As a puppy, once I got all excited and went to chase them. I don't know what got into me, but I jumped into the pool. I swear Kutty must have laughed at me, saying what a silly girl I was.

There were also many children playing around us. But they were different. They ran oddly, some sat on a moving chair and used funny sticks to walk. Some screamed and talked loudly while some did not talk at all. I used to be a little confused and would move back if a child came to me. But Kutty was a friend to all these children. She knew them and knew that they meant no harm. The kids would squeal with joy when they would see Kutty, they would run around and chase her. Some would come and hug her tight. Even while playing ball some could not hold or throw the ball properly. Still Kutty would fetch ball for them, every time with the same enthusiasm. Children who could not walk properly would hold her leash and try to walk. I was amazed to see who calm she was around these children, something that I had to learn big time. Slowly I learned to trust the kids and would play with them too.

But the most important thing that I learned from her was to understand human emotions and to respond to them. As dogs we have this innate quality of sensing changes in human emotions much before a human can even understand them. But not all dogs know what to do of this gift that we have. Kutty taught me to tune my senses to the changes in the emotions of the people around me. I would observe her connection with the special children. She somehow knew which once was about to cry. She would just go and sit besides him or lick his face and the child would break into a smile. She would look at a child with hopeful eyes and a waging tail and a child who would not speak would also try to call out her name. This was the Pawsitive effect of Kutty. Later when I did my first project at a special school, these teachings of Kutty helped me a lot to understand those kids and to bring a smile on their face.

Later we went on to do a program together which was very significant for me. It taught me a lot about how sad, unhappy and scarred humans can get at the loss of their loved ones. And what a big difference our waging tails and touch of our soft fur can do for them. It was rightly called Raahat Ka Ehsaas. There we met a lot of people who had lost their loved ones in a train blast. Some had lost their limbs, some were still in a state of shock and sadness. Before we met them, they were all sharing their grief with each other. Some were also crying. But as soon as Kutty entered, the mood of the entire room changed. Like a pro Kutty walked in the room full of people. From a dog's perspective I know how difficult it was to walk in a emotionally charged room full of strangers. But seeing Kutty, the emotional charge of the room changed. People came near her, hugged her, petted her, cried on touching her. When I came into the room sometime later, the people were much more relaxed. There were smiles all around us. I feel humbled when I think of the difference we could make in their lives.

Kutty is now seven years old and I am five. It will still take me many more years to be a super cool dog like her. She is truly an Angel.

To know more about our Angels log on to www.animalangels.org.in