Therapy dogs spread joy

LEOMINSTER — The look on the children’s faces when they meet Calvin says it all.

When the charming three-year-old chocolate lab paid a visit to Johnny Appleseed Elementary School a couple months ago, the excitement level was off the charts. Several students and even some staff had the opportunity to visit with him and pet him if they felt comfortable — and many did.

Everyone beamed and was visibly happy during their interactions with Calvin, which Angela Thomas said is the purpose of the therapy dog program she runs in collaboration with Leominster Public Schools (LPS). The Paw Pack Adventure Club founder and president said that bringing her therapy dogs to schools all across the city is an extension of her business, “how we give back to the community.”

“After COVID I realized how big the mental health crisis had become and was inspired by Boonefield Labradors mission of giving back,” Thomas said of the breeder in New Hampshire she gets her pups from. “I wanted to see about going back to my roots of working in mental health while blending my love for working with dogs. I had seen how much joy so many of these dogs brought to other communities, so I reached out to our district to see about creating a therapy dog program within the schools.”

When she created a detailed presentation and brought it to the school committee in November of 2022, “it was met with great support.” Thomas has been bringing both Calvin and Archie, a three-year-old yellow lab, to all 11 public schools in the city since last year, reaching thousands of children.

“Additionally, I’ve been collaborating with the Leominster Public Library as well as a local nursing home to expand my visits,” she shared. “It’s been an incredible experience to see what a positive impact animals make on people’s lives, and I look forward to continuing to expand my program to other areas of the community. Our mission is to bring joy and smiles wherever our tails take us.”

Annie, another chocolate lab, has reached therapy dog certification age, which is over a year and a half old, and is in the final stages of her certification process. Once she’s good to go, she’ll be put into the spreading the love rotation along with her dog siblings.

Thomas said therapy dogs “play a different helping role” than service dogs or emotional support animals.

“They aren’t trained to live with a specific handler. Rather, these are dogs that – with their human teammate, often the dog’s owner – volunteer in clinical settings, such as hospitals, mental health institutions, hospices, schools, and nursing homes, where they provide comfort, affection, and even love in the course of their work,” she said. “Therapy dogs are trained to be comfortable in new environments and to interact with different people. They must have a calm temperament, be unfazed by unfamiliar noises and movements, be comfortable being handled, and love people.”

Thomas, who has a BA in clinical psychology, AS in chemical dependency, and an MBA, is also the president of the Leominster Special Education Parent Advisory Council and a longtime city resident. She stays busy with her Paw Pack dog walking and playgroup biz and her two “very active” daughters are more than happy to pitch in.

“They love it,” Thomas said of the family affair. “My oldest wants to take over the business and all their friends wear the swag and help out when not in school.”

For the past 14 years she has been “providing adventure walks and off leash hikes for highly active dogs.”

“While my business hasn’t grown in volume like others in the area, I have developed an elite, high quality client base with the flexibility to split my time between work and family,” Thomas said of finding that elusive work/life balance. “When I’m not working, I’m running the SEPAC, coaching my youngest daughter’s soccer team, and carting them to their various sporting events and practices. As a family we enjoy spending our free time skiing.”

Providing therapy dog visits to school children and others seemed like a natural extension of her business, but the inspiration behind that journey is bittersweet. Her family lost their “beloved lab Gus” to cancer back in 2016. Four years later they decided they were ready to welcome another dog into their pack, which ended up coinciding with COVID.

“After extensive research we settled on a very reputable breeder, Boonefield Labradors,” Thomas conveyed about the family breeder that specializes in English Labradors and gives back in a big way. “They are breeders by day, but their passion is creating therapy dogs.”

She operates under the Team Boonefield therapy dogs umbrella, one of dozens of therapy or comfort dog and human teams that do, and many of the dogs are donated by the breeders.

“At Boonefield Labradors, they believe in the power of giving back. To date they have donated over 30 dogs to departments and facilities in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island,” Thomas said. “They also have dogs volunteering in various capacities such as schools, funeral homes, clinics, hospitals, court houses along with state and local law enforcement agencies providing much needed consolation and well-being.”

They welcomed “adorable” Archie to the fold in 2020 and the following year “equally adorable” Calvin joined their pack and then sweet Annie in 2022. Both Annie and Calvin were given up by families and all three dogs came from Boonefield Labradors, which Thomas calls “the crème de la crème of therapy dog breeders.”

All visits from Boonefield Therapy Dogs are 100% free of charge, insured, and liability protected at all times. Each dog/handler team is individually certified and trained through the National Alliance of Therapy Dogs organization and visits are designed to cater to each organization or program.

Thomas emails all the schools each month and sends out her dates of availability. She tries to get to each school once a month and leaves it up to guidance at each one to set appointments and for which the kids.

“I leave it up to the school what they want me to do at a visit and parents are welcome to opt in,” she said. “Depending on the class or visit we may do a tutorial, like how do you say hi to a dog, or tell them little fun facts.”

During their visit to Johnny Appleseed Calvin did tricks and was rewarded with treats from Thomas. Many of the children gently pet him and some even gave him a hug.

“Because I work with dogs all day, I’m able to put them into these kinds of situations where there’s a lot of stimulation and noise,” Thomas said of the sound level with the kids being thrilled to see Calvin. “I always make sure kids have permission and if any kids are afraid, I can work with them to help them get over their fear of dogs.”

She gets a kick out of seeing how much joy her furry friends bring to the students and their reactions to them.

“I once had a kid ask me how much Calvin’s head weighs and another asked how many hairs were on his ear,” Thomas said with a chuckle and smile. “It’s so interesting to see how nonverbal kids interact. One middle school kid typed out ‘Do you want to play ball?’”

Next up for the dynamic Thomas and Calvin duo is the second annual LPS Special Olympics at Doyle Field next week. She plans to bring the lab for the second half of the event because three hours is simply too long for him.

“I usually walk around and visit with all the kids along the sidelines or on their breaks, take pictures too,” she said.

This is her second time bringing a therapy dog to the LPS Special Olympics, which started last year. One hundred or so ABA and Life Skills students participate and they are bussed over for a day of games and fun.

“It’s a wonderful way for the kids to not only socialize with their peers but engage in some healthy competition,” Thomas said. “SEPAC will be there as well supporting the kids and families.”

Peter Charpentier, who is the adaptive physical education teacher for the district and helps organize the event, said they are thrilled to have Thomas and Calvin back again. He communicated that while this is the second year the school district is doing Special Olympics, for some of the students it will be their 15th Special Olympics event.

“It is a great opportunity for our athletes to show the hard work that they have put in throughout the year and it’s also a great chance to meet up with former teachers or students,” Charpentier said. “The connection most of these people make is lifelong.”