BEST FRIEND FOR READERS: Green Valley woman, dog take on role at library

Ever since 1976, when registered nurse Elaine Smith returned to the U.S. after working in England, therapy dogs increasingly have been welcomed in hospitals, nursing and retirement homes and other places where people need an extra dose of affection and comfort.

In England, Smith noticed how well patients responded to visits by a certain chaplain and his companion, a golden retriever. Over the years, health-care professionals in the U.S. have noticed the therapeutic effects of canine companionship, and therapy dogs are now seen assisting in a variety of public places.

In Green Valley, Janie Telischak has found a special role for man’s best friend. Her trained Siberian Husky therapy dog named Nikolai is becoming a familiar face at the Joyner-Green Valley Library on Wednesday afternoons when children in grades 1 to 5 are welcome to read to Nikolai.

“The setting is simple. Nikolai sits or lies with a child who reads to him. Dogs tend to calm kids down. There isn’t a class of children in front of the child… children who are having some difficulty with reading and often tend to stutter won’t stutter when they read to Nikolai,” Telischak said.

Rescued seven years ago from a shelter in Washington, Nikolai, she said, was unhealthy, dirty and hadn’t been taken care of. “But he was sweet.” She estimates he’s about 10 years old.

Though this is her sixth Husky, Nikolai is the first she’s trained as a therapy dog. She passed the required training on her first try and Nikolai has passed the required American Kennel Club tests for skill, obedience and aptitude.

Therapy dogs are trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, schools and stressful situations such as disaster areas.

They come in all sizes and breeds; the most important aspect of a therapy dog is temperament. A good therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, at ease in all situations and gentle. They must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted and handled.

Nikolai meets all of these criteria and is enjoying being read to at the Joyner-Green Valley Library. Telischak also takes him twice a month to Tucson Medical Center, where he assists patients in the outpatient clinic, and to St. Joseph’s Medical Center, where he assists stroke victims and patients who have had knee replacement in an animal assisted therapy program.

“For anyone who’s a health-care professional this is a good way to help patients,” she said.

It is important to note that therapy dogs are not “service” dogs. Service dogs directly assist those who are blind, hearing impaired or have mobility problems. They have a legal right to accompany their owners, whereas therapy dogs do not provide direct assistance and do not have legal rights to travel everywhere.

Telischak is a member of the international, not-for-profit Delta Society, which is composed of pet owners, volunteers, therapists, educators, health professionals and veterinarians. Their goal is “to promote animal’s helping people, improve their health, independence and quality of life.”

As Nikolai’s owner, Telischak wears the required badge when she takes him to public places and Nikolai wears a vest that says, “Ask to pet me — I’m friendly.”

For further information on reading to Nikolai at the Joyner-Green Valley Library, call children’s librarian Michelle Creston at 625-8660.

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net. Comment on this story online at www.gvnews.com.

Details

What: Joyner-Green Valley Public Library

Where: 601 N. La Canada Dr., Green Valley

Phone: 625-8660

Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.