Paws of Comfort: Animal Therapy with Pet Partners on #FilipiNARS

Say hello to Charlie, the lovable therapy dog and Sue Grundfest, founder of Pet Partners of Las Vegas. On this episode of #FilipiNARS presented by the Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada—we’re exploring the healing power of animal-assisted therapy (AAT).

AAT is a structured, goal-oriented intervention that integrates animals—like dogs, cats, horses, and even birds—into treatment plans to support emotional and psychological well-being. Conducted by licensed professionals, it helps clients achieve specific therapeutic outcomes through guided interaction with animals.

To give us a deeper understanding of how this works in practice, we’ve invited Ms. Grundfest and Charlie to share their journey and impact with Pet Partners.

Tune in and discover how compassion comes in all forms—sometimes with four paws and a wagging tail.


Presented by the Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada (PNANV). For more info: www.pnanv.org.



#FilipinoNurses #PetPartnersLV #AnimalAssistedTherapy #FilipinoAmericanHeritage #MentalHealthMatters #TherapyAnimals #FilipiNARS .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
H m.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hm hm. Just like a.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Friend from back home.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
This is your Filipino radio experience in Las Vegas, p
h l V Radio.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
A child.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
Well, Hello there to all of you Philippine ARS listeners
and followers. Coat we hope you are well and thank
you for joining us today. And of course, as you know,
Philippine ARS is brought to you by the p and
an V as a public service project, which is the
Philippin Nurses Association of Nevada in collaboration of course with

(01:31):
PHLV Radio. So today we have a great topic to discuss,
especially for those animal lovers out there.

Speaker 3 (01:40):
We're going to talk about animal.

Speaker 4 (01:42):
Assisted therapy or AAT, and it is a structured, goal
oriented intervention that integrates animals such as dogs, cats, horses,
and birds into the treatment plans to support emotional and
psychological well being conducted by licensed professionals. ANIMALSTS is the

(02:07):
therapies use the presence and the interaction with animals to
help clients or patients achieve specific therapeutic outcomes within a
well guided clinical framework. So to give us a better
perspective of how these works, we have invited the founder

(02:28):
of Pet Partners of Las Vegas, Miss Sue Grandfest and
her psychic Charlie.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Well, thank you so much for inviting us to spend
this time with you. Charlie is always happy to talk
about what we do. Oh, okay, great Charlie. We'll get
to you in a minute.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (02:46):
So Sue Grundfest is let's see, she is a licensed
Pet Partners instructor and can evaluate all the nine species
of Pet partners right, that's right, and including it. So
you relocated to Las Vegas and since then you have

(03:08):
been focused with creating unique animal assistant therapy programs serving
the community. Pet Partners of Las Vegas or the Love
Dog Adventures, Okay, is a leadership team. She's in the
leadership team for the national program and has educational healthcare

(03:30):
and partnerships across the valley. So you've been doing this
since twenty fourteen, right, Oh, we've been in Vegas.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
I've been here seventeen years from New York, when I'm
actually involved in animal assistant therapy for almost thirty years.
Almost thirty years.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
Okay, tell us a little bit more about yourself then.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Well, I was a corporate executive and I had a
wonderful career and I was on the board of directors
of an animal rescue. But I didn't have my own pet.
But then I had a very lazy illness. It changed
everything about me. Out of work over a year and
how to relearn a lot of things. And the only
thing I really wanted when I got well was to
have my own pet and do this. Kokomo Love Dog

(04:11):
was my very first therapy dog, a big white poodle,
and she taught me everything I know about this and
she saved my life. I'd still be sitting on the
couch in my nightgown if I didn't have to take
care of that dog. So I've had nine therapy dogs
since I am We are an affiliate of the National
Pet Partners, which is in many countries, and I'm really
proud of that affiliation. When I moved to Vegas, it

(04:33):
wasn't my intention as I retired to bring a program.
I brought one dog and I was just going to
volunteer myself. Well, I've had nine over the years, but
we have many many animals in our program, so it
grew from there.

Speaker 4 (04:47):
So tell us what is the definition and the purpose
of therapy animals.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
It's integrating the healing power of the Charlie do you
want to, Yes, come on, Charlie, you can come with me.
It's integrated the power of the animal to bring about
a goal or result. So whether it's helping with physical
therapy or occupational therapy and the dogs or the horses.
We had horses at one of the nursing schools on Thursday.
But it's really a tool for us. It's the vehicle

(05:14):
to reach people. I specialize in mental health and behavioral health,
especially with teenagers, and they are going to talk to anybody.
They're not going to deal with anything, but they will
talk to the animals and they will understand kindness and touch.
They'll never under estimate the power of touch because a
lot of people nobody touches them in a kind way.
So it's utilizing the power of the animal and traditional

(05:37):
and non traditional therapies. But it's also just for fun,
comfort and joy. Yes, we are part of wellness programs
that mint many places in Las Vegas, including the VA
and all of the colleges, and many corporations bring us
in to help distress their employees.

Speaker 4 (05:53):
Well, that is great to know. So dogs are not
the only therapy animals right.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
We have nine species that Pet Partners registers so let's
see if I can do it. Dog hat horse, mini
donkey and full size horse, alpaca and lama, pig, rat,
birds and what was the last one? Did I not say? Pig? Horses,
rats and any pigs, birds and guny pigs and rabbits.

(06:20):
It has to be a species that Pet Partners National
has found a reliable testing for because our evaluation process
is really the strictest of all programs.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
Okay, so you have so Pet Partners of Las Vegas
is part of the national correct.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
We have the Nevada Affiliate of International Pet Partners, which
is the certifying body, the certifying body of animals for
those nine species. He's so happy with you. How do
you feel when you pet him?

Speaker 3 (06:48):
I love him? Can I take you home?

Speaker 4 (06:52):
But I do have a dog named mem Yeah she's
a shitsu. But he so he knows it. Yeah, he
knows it too. So what are the benefit of benefits
of theirn.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
Well, you know, people who usually think of just their animals,
visiting and hospitals and making people feel be part of
a mental health program. But that's my specialty, mental health
and behavioral health, especially with teenagers. But our program works
in a broad range of environments from schools to senior homes,
to hospitals to like I said, all of the colleges,

(07:26):
the via primary clinics. Quite a few corporations bring us
in every month. We're at the medical school at UNLV.
We are there regularly to nursing schools because it's a
very stressed world and during exam time or study time
or just lifetime, animals give them a break. If they

(07:47):
come for five minutes during their break, it lets them
settle down. And I have next week. I've got the
School of Medicine, a cat and four dogs. And yeah,
they're in the library. I think I'll take him back
if he wants to sit up here?

Speaker 3 (08:01):
Now, want to if he does?

Speaker 5 (08:03):
So?

Speaker 4 (08:03):
You you just said that you know they can help
in various therapy settings, right right, for instance, in schools
and hospitals and rehab centers. Is there a difference in
their roles when they go to each specific at all?

Speaker 2 (08:20):
I actually have two therapy dogs now, I've had three
at one time. We have many in our program, all
different breeds and all different ages and things. But they
don't do the same thing. My buddy who worked yesterday
works with children and things like that, and does a
lot of physical things with them, whether it's even playing.
If you are doing physical therapy to get your hand

(08:41):
to open to pestile, we're actually utilizing the animal to
bring about a goal of that session. We do a
lot with children and with special needs or someone who
might be nonverbal. I had a child years ago that
the first thing they ever said with Coco my dog, Coco. Oh.
After weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks, we're part
of the speech therapy. So it's whether it's you look

(09:02):
at mental health. They're non judgmental, unconditional love. He's not
gonna say you don't look well today, or you sound funny,
or you smell funny, or you walk funny. They're just
gonna love you. And I think a lot of that
is all PET Partners puts a lot of onus on
the handler. Us at the end of the wish is
everything that's who's insured with pet Partner's the handler. I

(09:24):
have to know if he's stressed, if he's doing too much,
what's appropriate. We work in the district libraries, he goes,
he's a library dog. But I also got the official
teams with Clark County District and the VA and places
like that, and it might be that I bring Buddy.
Mostly with my teenagers, it's Buddy. He's a little more active,

(09:44):
and they understand his background and they understand. The dogs
that are in a program and the cat, they're all
they're adopted or there's they all have a story and
the stories are on their little cards and everybody gets
the trading card. And I have had show and we've
made the books of the dogs and the cats and
the horses. And I've had children in our reading program

(10:05):
that say I can't read. They could be sixteen, seventeen
years old. I can't read. But if the dog is
in front of them and they want to read that
dog's page, they will try harder. So is the library
we do in all different places. Wow, every time I
meet someone, we want to see what's appropriate. We have
activity cards and things that the dogs know how to
do with a cat can he sit down? And they're

(10:27):
learning a thousand things you would never think of. We
want to look at the affect when you work with
mental health, especially I work with adults, young adults, teenagers, youth,
and a lot of our teams do. Sometimes you go
in the affect is so high they're breaking walls before
they come into us. You're bringing them down. Our dogs

(10:48):
won't jump the lick bark, They're going to be chill.
And I've had kids when they come in, I have
maybe security in the room and they say, we wish
you would hear every day because it's the only time
they will listen to you, Miss Grunfestival. They don't listen
to us, but they respect the animal. And we have
to know to handle so it's very safe, how to
handle them, how to know if we have to back up.
Then I work with people who have such a low affect,

(11:10):
horribly depressed, and we want to bring it up. Can
you make eye contact with him? He is deaf and
almost blind, and he will make.

Speaker 3 (11:20):
Still look at me.

Speaker 2 (11:22):
By I had a little dog. We spent almost nine
sessions until he was up on the table like this,
brave enough to even touch him and look at him.
A child with many, many challenges, and he wouldn't make
eye contact with humans, but he did after meeting twenty
one dogs and forecats, he understood because they're not going
to judge him, They're just going to be there. That's

(11:44):
the power.

Speaker 3 (11:45):
That's the power.

Speaker 4 (11:47):
So you opened bet Partners of Las Vegas, which is
a five O one C three and of course with
that for those who don't know, it's a not for
profit organization.

Speaker 3 (11:59):
Why did you decide to open this?

Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, when I moved here, I was pet Partners were
our teams, but I had another group in New York.
That's why we're also Love Dog Adventures. But I didn't
want to start a whole program. But when we moved
to Vegas and people said to me, how can I
do what you do? And we realized working with some
of the casino properties, working we hit things cost money.
And my volunteers pay for nothing, no uniforms, no nothing.

(12:22):
Once they're part of the group, we do everything. So
even to make broth suors every dog, I can go
through a thousand a month of his trading cards. That's
our giveaway. The books, the stories Miss Coco would make
a toy of her, and they're all all given away.
So I said, you know, we really should be a
nonprofit because people started asking me how can we donate
to you? And we started, but the bank is Sue,

(12:46):
don't tell anybody that. But we became a nonprofit and
U and LV the nonprofit clinic, did our nonprofit pro bono,
so we have great You know, it takes a village.
I have a lot of people supporting us to do this.

Speaker 4 (12:59):
The a, the different cards kind of like the baseball
cards that he Pokemon Pokemon and our guests here, our
special guest here, Charlie was even featured at the UNLV magazine.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
That was very special. We were two years ago December
sixth during the active shooter tragedy. I had five dog
teams in lead Library, who's our primary liaison at the university,
and that's when it happened and we were locked in
that room. We don't allow our animals to work more
than two hours a day. We were in that room
almost six hours. We have the last building to be

(13:38):
opened up, and it was quite scary. There were three
thousand students waiting to see us in that building. Every
dog was just amazing. I know we kept some kids
from wanting to make a run for it. The first
time we know of a therapy team not just comforting
people after a tragedy. Certainly nine to eleven October one.
We've been there for everything, but to actually be a
part of it. We were there not knowing what was happening.

(14:03):
Every single handler and animal were so remarkable. And now
I go places and they say, is that Charlie from UNLV.
But it really kept the We had hundreds of students
locked in the room with us, and then more in
the building once they walked us in, and they kept them.
I always say we were at the wrong place, but

(14:24):
at exactly the right time because these animals we had
the staff that were remarkable UNLV remarkable. We had no
idea what was going to happen. We could have been
be getting all these rumors and the dogs that we
had them on the floor on their blankets and everybody
surrounding them, and then to time just kept going on.
We didn't know. We walked them from place to we

(14:44):
walked them around, changing blankets, they got to move. And
every student we had one young man that I know
for years there and he loves Charlie, he loves my Benny.
He holds his paw and he's got some challenges himself,
and this is his anchor. He holds his paw. And
for those six he held his paw. And when we
had to walk to Thomas and Mack and then get
on the buses, we had to do everything. The hands

(15:06):
up and can't leave your car like everybody else. This
young man held this dog's hand, his paw, and that
kept him calm because he was going to panic. And
I know we made a difference. We make a difference
every time we go out. It could be really subtle.
We may not know about it till fifteen years later.
I met a woman, a woman now who I know

(15:28):
since three years old. Some of the places we go
are very confidential and we can't say where we go,
but they're utilizing the pets in really remarkable ways. And
I met this person very young, and through the years
I would see her. I can't say I know her.
It's all confidential. They would always say, do you remember me?
I said, well, this is Charlie. You haven't met Charlie yet.

(15:48):
We have to redirect. That's the training for our handlers.
How do we handle this. We have to know, just
like you and the nursing confession, what you can and
can acknowledge it. But this woman came up to me
and she's grown woman now, and she took out well.
I happened to have one of his little baggies, a
plastic bag with over one hundred trading cards, and she says,
this is what I touch when I'm having a very

(16:10):
bad day. Everyone that she met over fifteen years, you know,
and I know I may have only met her once
or twice over the years, and she met others in
our program made a difference to her. She said, this
anchors me because I'm having I can't do what's dress.
And she's in college. Now, great, that's that's.

Speaker 3 (16:31):
Great, that's great.

Speaker 4 (16:32):
So I know you bring them to a lot of places,
like you said, and you have a fact. She's a
very busy woman.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
And I'm retired.

Speaker 3 (16:42):
She's retired, but she's very busy.

Speaker 4 (16:44):
But it took a while for us to get together
to say, hey, when are you available to even come
through July?

Speaker 2 (16:49):
Right? Seven days a week, I'm in the field or
training or testing or running the program. You know.

Speaker 3 (16:54):
So how many therapy animals do you have?

Speaker 2 (16:57):
We don't really give a number because it fluctuates. Every
two years. We must go through a complete renewal, so
some pets age out, they retire. I have teams in
Saint George, other places in Mawapa, we're all over that
are still part of the Nevada program. So it varies,
and we're going through a tough time now because we've
had about ten or eleven that aged out and are retiring.

(17:19):
We lost quite a through during COVID because they moved.
The beauty of pet partners is were everywhere. So during
COVID some of our great handler went to Florida or
Arizona to be with family and volunteer there. They were everywhere,
so in volkswaits. But right now we had mostly dogs.
We do have three cats, we have three mini horses.
We had three rabbits and guinea pigs who all passed

(17:40):
away last year. So we're desperately looking for the smaller
pocket pets that we can work with. And I hope
Charlie has at least two more years.

Speaker 4 (17:49):
Yeah, so we do have some pictures to show you,
so I hope you know that they are.

Speaker 3 (17:55):
But let's talk about our guests here. Hi, Charlie, you
up for docketing.

Speaker 2 (18:01):
He is dead. When I adopted him, he was already
quite senior, and he had many many medical procedures over
the next four days and put him back together. Yeah,
I'll tell us, I said, well, I said to me,
I took him. He was extremely mad and in bad condition,
but all I look for for my own pets and
those in the program is if they're people centric and

(18:23):
if they truly have people in a calm way. This
dog was in pretty poor physical condition from neglect, but
over the seven hours I spent looking at him, he
made eye contact, and I just knew under all of that,
just like the kids I work with. One kid said
to me, all your dogs, Miss sew are ugly when
you get them, And I said, but the beauty is there,
we bring it out. So I spent many hours with him,

(18:46):
and then I knew I couldn't take him home to
meet my dogs. Yeah, I couldn't bring him home because
of the condition he was in. So I took him
straight to my vet and we talked and all the
next four days she did many, many testing and procedures.
Eight pounds years later and a half of hair was
cut off. That was him, so you can see his eyes.
Yet all he was just the greatest. And you have

(19:08):
a shit Susie, you know how darling they are. But
he was a messer. But he was always kind and
gentle and kissing, and he had so many procedures over
a few days. Three of the vet texts where I
go about my animal hospital said, Miss Sue. If you
can't keep him, one of us.

Speaker 5 (19:24):
Will take him.

Speaker 3 (19:25):
He's the sweetest dog in the world.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
Yeah, so right now I have him four years adopted
in the day after Thanksgiving four years ago. We think
he must be about fourteen or fifteen years old. We're
not sure, and we hope he lives to eighteen. Several
of mine have and they've all had great medical challenges.
But he's awesome. So that's how I picked Charlie only

(19:47):
because of this. His attachment to people. Yes, and he's
also great with other animals. They have to be, but
they have to be naturally calm. It's not all about obedience.
It's the natural temperament and demeanor, and that they love
people in a way that even though we're always on
the leash, we always manage them.

Speaker 3 (20:05):
He wants to be you saw before, he.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
Wants to wait. When we were waiting Will, he was
making he makes something sound because he said, can you
please pet me more? Why am I here up on
this table if you're not gonna pet me?

Speaker 4 (20:19):
Yeah, you are so good and you just really look
at me and say, hey, I talk to me.

Speaker 3 (20:26):
Right. So, how many handlers do you have?

Speaker 2 (20:29):
Well, it's it's over fifty to sixty now, but each
one is with their own pet, so we are they have.
Of course, we are tested with our animal and pet
partners different levels of registration. Complex is the highest level
means our evaluation is twenty three elements and it's the
handler and the animal being tested. We do a complete
retest and a place you've never been. Volunteers, you've never

(20:50):
met with an evaluator. We have five licensed valuators in Vegas.
He passed as a blind deaf dog complex with me,
so and I never talked to him. He's the highest level.
So we were testing with how I position luish and
how I touch him because he can't hear anything, can't
give commands, and how much he loves all the people
around him. And they have to be steady. They have

(21:12):
to be friendly but not effusive. Somebody you know, if
you say to me, my dog can kill me with
his tail because he's so active and jump in. That's
not friendly. That's excited. He's a friendly dog. That's all
he wants to handle him.

Speaker 3 (21:27):
Yeah, and and and that's good. I love that he's
facing me.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
Oh absolutely, it's like he wants I know. You guys
are all seeing maybe the rear end of him, but
he wants to look at he turns around and look
at the people.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
We're gonna turn him around later. But let me ask
you one thing.

Speaker 2 (21:42):
I know.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
There's such a thing as a service dog. What is
the difference between a service dog and.

Speaker 2 (21:47):
A therapy It's so simple to say a service dog
and it has to be just a dog or a
MANI pony in rural areas works for their owner. They
are helping their own mitigated disability with a learned task
or alert. They have full public access and you don't
want to handle them. It's not going to be like no,
like a therapy dog works with their owner for other people,

(22:09):
that's the difference. He's not watching me all the time.
If I need an alert to perhaps a seizure or
panic attack, or a mobility dog that has to help
me physically. His role is to be in everyone else,
But we handle them, so it's a team. Both ends
of the leaf. Is really important in our training and certification,

(22:30):
and we really want to know that this animal and
that human and I can only bring one a time,
and couldn't bring both of my dogs because his needs
come first. You are your animal's best advocate. If even
now during this taping, he makes a sound that does
sound odd, but he can't really bark, so he makes
a funny sound. If he said that and I said
he has to go potty, you have to take him out. Yes,

(22:52):
So if they alert or they give a signal, it's
our responsibility to understand their animal. So service dog works
for you, therapy dog works with you. Yeah, that's the
I can't take him where pets.

Speaker 4 (23:03):
Are not allowed, right right, So yeah, I did have
a patient who actually has a service dog. And this
patient particularly has some seizures and she goes, you know,
flat out, So that service dogs they trained to warn,
to warn the nurse and actually the patient thatches the

(23:23):
chest of the of the patient, pressure of the pressure,
just to signal that you're about to go into some.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
Kind that's there's greatest sense to smell the diabetical work
do they's smelling the change in you. That's what's so remarkable.

Speaker 4 (23:40):
And if they know he he noticed that actually when
when the patient was like really.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
Anxious, you know, they precursor.

Speaker 4 (23:49):
Yeah, it's he would put the pause, you know, her belly,
just to warn everybody something is gonna.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
Be working with forty thousand people like I'm gonna have
it a come next week all around them because he's
got to concentrate on that on not human and that
is life saving. But it's a very different job, very
different training, and what we're going to go through next week.
I've got five dogs working at one of the big
properties here for big convention. That's that's our funding comes

(24:17):
from our corporate sponsors. They're going to have thousand. I
can go through maybe a thousand cards in a day
because that's what it is. But if he had to
watch me to do something, then he can't do that job.
So they're very different, and they're both both really valuable. Okay,
so he wants more, you want more. You want more,
he wants more.

Speaker 3 (24:37):
Okay, So how how long do you need to train these?

Speaker 2 (24:40):
Well, it varies, but the basics you have. The animal
has to be at least a year old, can't be
someone you adopted three weeks ago, and they have to
have lived with you at least six months. You really
have to know them. You have to know their signals.
How is he telling me he's stressed? How do you
tell me you have to go to the bathroom? We
don't have a doggy door here. You have to understand
what he loved the most, so that's and then solid

(25:03):
positive training. We do not allow any metal, no choke collar,
no prong caller, no retractable leach. They have to be
managed like this and can you find what they're really
best out? Do they really love children? I'm a hospice dog.
People say I want to do hospice. You with the
human under the leash might not be able to handle it.
That will travel down the lee. You have to make

(25:26):
it as a team. He is still a class dog.
He does all the big events. He's the mascot for
the colleges. They all know him. He wants he's the
hugging dog. Before we leave, you're gonna get a hug
Doris because that's what he's known as, the hugging dog.
But do you see how he's not leaning to me.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yeah, he wants to go on you.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
He wants you. So that's what we look for. So
at least a year old, at least live with you,
six months solid positive training without food. They have to
not be bothered. If maybe next week we have a
buffet behind us. I don't know. We don't work with
treats as the reward and they have to love it
to tolerate.

Speaker 5 (26:01):
Do you think he's loving.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
This right now? Oh god, he's not used to being
up on a table. He's doing so great. He just
wants more and that's what we look for in all
the different species. You had to see the little horse.
We had sit them in at Galen Nursing and Southern Hills.
That's our partnerships and I have I just posted the
pictures on our Facebook page. Unbelievable, unbelievable. Everybody came out

(26:23):
to see her and it gave them a big break too.
You know how hard nurses work and the students, we
know that we love nurses and it just come out.
For two minutes, we're going to be in front of
the building and they all came out. It was fun.

Speaker 4 (26:36):
It's really really stressed now. Now, what is a training
for the handler?

Speaker 2 (26:40):
Well, PET Partners is different than other programs. There are
many different therapy programs and we encourage people to look
into all of them and choose what's best for you.
There's an online handler course that you have to take
and pass, and we do it every year to make
sure you're up to speed on our policy and procedures
such as never let go of a leash, never have
them be stressed, under stand their signals. Are they predictable

(27:01):
versus reliable? We have to know what this animal is
going to do, so it's safe and so they're happy.
Do they like the big crowds? Are they going to be?
So we learned hippo laws and infection control. If I'm
at the hospital, I can't go in a room where
you have to gown up. I can't goun him up. No,
I can't mask him. So we learn all of that.
So it's an online course available now. I am an
instructor who could teach it, but I think people love

(27:23):
doing it online. I'm sitting with me for eight nine hours,
and then once you've passed that, you have two full
years to pass with your pet. And some people say, well,
that's crazy because we schedule testing every month. If the
class I'm doing now, I also do advanced therapy prep
work that's advanced if you want to take it. But
now that group may want a test when they're done,

(27:46):
and they may I have people from last January that
just don't feel ready. They volunteer with us, They shadow,
they come to see all the different things, but they're
not ready. We don't want to rush. And some people
start with a pet that's young. You know, a golden
that's a year old, or a lab or husky. They're
very active. Might you tell that five six years that
this is their next career.

Speaker 4 (28:06):
So you have to be certified as a handler as well.
We call it registrations the handler.

Speaker 2 (28:11):
And the animal. So if you look at my pet,
this is my hospital badge. But you see it's both
of us. And if the handler doesn't pass our evaluation,
it doesn't matter if the animal is green. Everything is
on the handler. Everything, everything I'm gonna pick come up again.
I'm gon show him how hugs. Would you like a hug?

Speaker 3 (28:29):
Yes? Yes? Can I have put your arms to your side.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
I'm gonna put him where he knows where he is. Sorry,
it's okay, okay, now hold him. That's Charlie, what he
is known for. He is the most let's see. Sorry,
there you go. That's Charlie. We're gonna get a good
shot at Okay, there you and he's quite happy right now,
and he's holding on to you, and so we can

(28:58):
pass him around from person to person and you will
hold on and he is so happy right now. So
finally Doris gave me a hug. Oh what a good boy.
So there you go. And you know, you don't want
to ever underestimate, like I said, the power of touch.

(29:19):
I had a client. We don't call them patients, we
call them all clients. And I had a client once
and we visited her over a year every week with Coco,
who was the original, the original original, that's the original Coco.
And we would sit with her and she really had
very little mobility left in her life, but you know,

(29:39):
God bless her, her brain was there and she wanted to
talk and have company. And I think I was her
only visitor. And at one point we would sit like
this and she would pet the dog and I just
was with her. I heard about her life she had.
She could tell her stories and jokes to someone who
never heard them before, and that was very enriching for her.
And at one point she said to me, you know, Sue,
you were the only one who touches me now in

(30:01):
a non medicinal way. I have all these caregivers. My
husband doesn't even touch me. And that is the power.
She would pet this dog the best she could or
I just lay them on her and she said, this
is what I'm missing the most touch. So when you're
with your patients, I know how important that. I've been
a patient for a long time and the nurses saved

(30:23):
my spirit and soul. And we're the only ones who
would say, how you doing today? And I was not
an organ or a disease or I was a person,
and that's why we love nurses. Yeah, that's good.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
So where is where's the cinnamon?

Speaker 2 (30:43):
That's it this week?

Speaker 4 (30:45):
Okay, that's awesome. So where is pet Partners located? How
can people get a hold of you?

Speaker 2 (30:52):
And? Uh national is in every state, in several international countries.
We are local in Nevada across the valley. We are
at www. Pet Partners of Las Vegas dot org. And
if you want information on how to become a team
or any anything quick on contact us and I answer
every day all those comments. You can also make a donation.

(31:14):
So we are the local affiliate. So we serve Boulder City,
Clark County, as far as Mawapa, Laughlin, so we serve
all of this area. And it's just the most rewarding
thing to do with your PET.

Speaker 3 (31:27):
I tell you, I know people tell me you crazy?

Speaker 4 (31:30):
You get three dogs? I said, well, you know two
of my dogs are rescue dogs. So I'm like, okay,
that's why I couldn't be without them. I couldn't be
without them.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yeah, you want to go back up.

Speaker 4 (31:45):
So what are your final thoughts for the audience and
for the community as about therapy bats?

Speaker 2 (31:54):
Right, Well, We're very proud to be part of an
organization like Pet Partners that takes this seriously. We're a professionalolunteers.
We are all volunteers, even my board. None of us
are paid. Our currency is different. The currency is knowing
we serve the community. And what is better than spending
time with your beloved pet doing something they love and
you love. And I just see that we have achieved

(32:17):
goals through the touch and the animals and their unconditional
love and non judgmental demeanor that you can't do with humans.
It's an augment to traditional and non traditional therapies. And
as the human under the wish, I am retired and
I work seven days a week. Is nothing more glorious
than knowing you have either brought a bright spot to

(32:37):
someone's day with your pet. That's right, that's so good.

Speaker 4 (32:44):
Well, missus Sue Grunfest, thank you so very much for
coming to the program today to explain to us about
animal therapy, and of course Charlie, thank you so much, Charlie.

Speaker 3 (32:58):
This is ever the.

Speaker 4 (32:59):
First time time in Philippine ARS we have a therapy
dog as a guest.

Speaker 3 (33:05):
So thank you for coming today. We appreciate it. Okay,
you want more, Okay, come on here, I get I
can give you a hug.

Speaker 5 (33:17):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (33:18):
So, as we have explored today, therapy animals and profound
give profound emotional support and bring comfort and reduce stress
and fosters healing in ways that words alone can't even
you know, can even you can't even imagine.

Speaker 3 (33:40):
While dogs may be the most.

Speaker 4 (33:42):
Recognized companions in this space, there's a wide variety, as
Sue had said, of animals therapy. Animals like cats and
horses and even small mammals that can I didn't even
know that. Yeah, they can play a therapeutic roles. So
the heart of a successful animal assisted therapy program lies

(34:06):
in the collaboration of the handler and the correct It's
a dedicated team of mental health professionals, trained handlers, and
the animals themselves working in harmony to create a safe
and nurturing environment where.

Speaker 3 (34:25):
Healing can truly take place.

Speaker 4 (34:27):
Therapy animals remind us of the power of connection, the
power of touch, how a gentle nudge or a warm
gaze or a shared moment of calm can make all
the difference. Their presence in therapeutic settings opens doors to
new possibilities for emotional and cognitive well being. So thanks

(34:51):
for joining us on this journey. Please be safe and
be well, and give your furry or feathered friends as
X a hug today. Okay, so until next time. This
is story's bower.

Speaker 3 (35:04):
You're Philippin, our's host, signing off for now.

Speaker 5 (35:10):
Wonderful m hmmmm.

Speaker 3 (36:04):
Just like a friend from back home.

Speaker 1 (36:08):
This is your Filipino radio experience in Las Vegas p
h l V Radio.

Speaker 5 (36:15):
A V bad

Speaker 2 (36:30):
H