Agreed Schony and that was one of the reasons we chose him. I started out with Impalas cuz nobody else collected them. Annie trained and rode Arab Stallions because they were not widely accepted as a dressage horse. That is usually the reaction we get when we try and solicit a new organization to do therapy work at because they do not see a Mastiff as being a therapy dog but they are in fact known as the Gentle Giants for a reason. During the interview Annie said this was our 'Paying it forward' gesture which took me and the interviewer by surprise. I had never looked at it that way before.
Anyone who has a dog or cat and even some other animal types (some places even accept horses!) should consider doing therapy work. It takes about a year to get the dog trained and costs a few hundred dollars but the rewards are priceless. We all love our animals so why not share them with others. Anyone interested, check out
www.tdi-dog.org