Sit... Roll Over... Fetch... Psychoanalyze... Good Dog.

April 23, 2001 Leesburg, Virginia, USA

At Greydon Manor Behavioral Health Services, one of their best therapists doesn't wear any pants to work.

But Tahoe II, a 4-year-old Labrador/Golden Retriever Mix, has shown that she can help patients in a way no human ever could.

Greydon Manor, a non-profit organization, specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents with serious emotional problems.  These youngsters often suffer from such severe depression and painful, repressed memories that communication is virtually impossible.  Tahoe bridges that chasm.

Now you might be saying, "Well my dog can do that."

Maybe so, but not without the rigorous training and years of experience that Tahoe has to her credit.  Far more than just a dose of "fuzz therapy", this shaggy little shrink knows exactly how to assess, evaluate and act in a variety of different scenarios.

Tahoe's partner Dr. Richie Calvin told The Scoop, "I never cease to be amazed at how Tahoe finds a way to communicate with the youngsters.  A young person was very upset at one of our center wide events. The youngster was depressed. Tahoe went over to her on command.  However, Tahoe after making initial overtures stopped and waited for the youngster to signal readiness. This took about 20 minutes."

He adds, "She will often seek out someone who is upset and go to them. She prefers the active youngsters but will wait to see what the youngsters who come into my office want to do."

The kids, of course, just love Tahoe.  It's quite a common sight to see Tahoe standing there, surrounded by multitudes of children, all jockeying for position to get their turns at petting and hugging her.  And she doesn't seem to mind one bit; after all, it's her regular job.

Tahoe is an alumnus of Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), a non-profit group that trains highly-specialized service dogs to assist professional caregivers and people with disabilities.  She is just one of the 1,688 exceptional dogs that CCI has placed since 1978.

Says Rob Manaseri of CCI, "People are learning a lot more about the benefits of having an animal interact with people who are disabled or ill."

Still, these pooches simply go about their job, largely unheralded and unappreciated for their contributions to modern science and knowledge.  But we know better, don't we?

In the latter half of the 20th century, Dr. Carl Rogers, hailed as one of the most influential psychologists ever, proposed using the "third force" of humanistic psychology: treating the patient with non-judgmental, non-directive, unconditional regard—unconditional trust and compassion.

And where on earth are you ever going to find that?

Says Dr. Calvin, "Tahoe knows that he stole this from his dog."

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