Baxter, The Therapy Dog

Here is a very moving video! It is the story of Baxter, the “therapy dog” – a furry and compassionate member of the Pawsitive Pals Pet Therapy Program at a hospice and palliative care unit in San Diego.

Baxter lived to the amazing age, for a dog, of 19½.  And right to the end of his own life, he provided comfort and companionship to human beings who were facing the end of theirs.

[youtube clip_id=”oIrDbzoOxZc” width=”424″ height=”344″]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIrDbzoOxZc[/youtube]

You can read more about Baxter in this article: Memoir Follows Baxter, a Therapy Dog with a Healing Touch.

Baxter may hold a record as the oldest therapy dog, but he was by no means the only one.  There are many others whose comforting presence is helping people most in need of such comfort. Here are a few websites where you can learn more:

Therapy Dogs (Wikipedia)

Therapy Dogs International (United States)

Delta Society (Australia)

Therapy Dogs United (United States)

Pets as Therapy (UK)

DOGS Victoria (Australia)

Lead the Way: Animal Assisted Therapy (Australia)

Helping Paws – Canistherapy  or Helping Paws (in English) (Czech Republic)