A WAG, SOME FUR, AND A SMILE

Date: June 9, 2000 Section: VIRGINIA Page: B1

By KATHY LU THE ROANOKE TIMES

The rewards are small but priceless.

A 6-year-old girl taking her first steps on crutches after foot surgery; a word from a child who had not spoken since his brain injury; a smile from a boy diagnosed with leukemia. Their incentive: fluffy, furry and even hairless dogs with wagging tails.

"The is the first time I've had a chance to use the dogs," said Andrea Roth, a pediatric physical therapist at Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital. "I think it's a great way to bring the spirits up of the kids."

For about the past five years, the Carilion Medical Center for Children - on the hospital's 10th and top floor - has had a Pet Pals program that brings dogs in Wednesday mornings to visit the young patients.

Roth was using Harley, a golden retriever, to teach 6-year-old Andrea Armbrester how to walk with crutches. Andrea had corrective surgery Tuesday on her right foot, which is now in a cast.

"Can you walk toward the doggie?" Roth asked Andrea as Harley stood about eight feet away from her. Andrea looked at Harley and took about five difficult and precarious steps before sitting down on a bench to rest. Harley came up to her to be petted.

Then his owner, Rebecca Ulrey, had Harley do his special trick where he balances a dog biscuit on his nose until Ulrey gives him the signal to throw it up in the air and catch it in his mouth.

Andrea laughed.

"I come home feeling so good about what we do," Ulrey said last week from her Botetourt County home. "For those parents to see their children smile for the first time or forget about the pain they're in ... it's my way to make a difference in society."

Ulrey and Harley have volunteered at the hospital for about two years. Like the other 10 dog and owner teams in the program, they had to be certified by the Delta Society - a Washington-based organization that promotes animal-assisted therapy - before they could volunteer. The process involves a series of temperament, obedience and health tests for the dogs and quizzes for the owners on how to handle various situations. The program certifies both the owner and pet.

"Hospitals are gaining more confidence and seeing the benefits of animal-assisted therapy," said Lynnette Spanola, vice president of development and public relations for the Delta Society. "People are more motivated and have a higher success rate of recovery with an animal involved."

Certification, which costs $35 and must be renewed biannually, has been granted to dogs, rabbits and even llamas, Spanola said. In the Roanoke Valley, Pam Scordas and Connie Kniseley, who also are Pet Pals volunteers, are trained evaluators for the Delta Society.

"It takes a very special dog to do this," said Scordas, who had Sam, a fluffy beige chow mix, with her Wednesday. She is also the kennel manager at Sleepy Hollow Kennel and a trainer for the St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation.

"I have four other dogs ... that I've trained but I don't have any other dogs that can do this," she said.

Spanola said the society certifies about 800 animals annually, a majority of which are dogs. Evaluators test how the animals react to loud noises, being petted and tugged by children, and being away from their owners.

"We're looking for reliable and consistent reactions," Spanola said. "It's not the easiest thing in the world."

Mostly, the dogs must be inherently good-natured. Sam was rescued from an abusive home while Harley was adopted from the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter. Mr. Spock - Kniseley's dog - is a retired Chinese crested show dog. He is gray and hairless except for tufts of white hair on his head, tail and feet.

The night before their hospital visit, the dogs have to be bathed, have their teeth brushed and nails trimmed. Ulrey said she usually uses her own Biolage shampoo on Harley, who has a glossy, auburn coat.

"It's the closest thing I have to getting a kid ready for school," Ulrey joked. She and her husband, Michael Ulrey, are unable to have children, so they lavish their love on Harley, who is named for Harley Davidson motorcycles - one of Michael Ulrey's dream possessions.

The Ulreys also call Harley "H.D." or "son." He has a wardrobe of red bandanas - a trademark - and his run of Craig Creek on weekends at a cabin the Ulrey's recently bought.

"The way he is is the way we brought him up," said Michael Ulrey. "He needs love, love, love."

Harley doesn't bark at strangers. He trots rather than runs and comes when he is called. If his owner is occupied, he will sit or lie down until he is needed.

Once, Harley visited a 12-year-old boy who was recovering from a brain injury that left him unable to speak for a while.

"They told me he loved animals and always took in strays, so when Harley came in, the boy tried to rub him," Rebecca Ulrey recalled. "The speech therapist then asked, 'Can you say dog?' and he said 'dog' and his father just broke down in tears and said, 'Praise the Lord!'"

It was the first word he had spoken since his injury.

"I see Harley as having a long, long life ahead of him as a therapy dog," she said.

OnWednesday, all three dogs were in J.T. Boggs' room. The 7-year-old from Lewisburg, W.Va., has been in and out of the hospital since Christmas and has just finished his last chemotherapy treatment for leukemia. He didn't want to pet the dogs, who put their paws up on his bed, but he still grinned at them.

"What days do the dogs come to visit?" a hospital staff member asked him.

"Wednesdays," he said, "Doggie Days."

On the Net:
www.deltasociety.org

Kathy Lu can be reached at 981-3255 or kathylu@roanoke.com

Caption: photo - B.A. RUPERT THE ROANOKE TIMES J.T. Baggs of West Virginia grins at Harley, a golden retriever that visited him Wednesday. Harley and 10 other dogs take part in Pet Pals. COLOR