Tennessee Ernie is a 3 year old Great Dane. He has been doing Therapy Visits at the Paulding
County WellStar Facility for 2 years now. Ernie got involved with Therapy work through
Dreamworkers' Obedience for Life classes. He was enrolled in the class while he was still
a puppy. After he turned one year old, he passed his AKC Canine Good Citizen test and
received his Therapy Dog registration through Therapy Dogs, Inc. and his certification through
Dreamworkers, Inc.

    Ernie visits the nursing facility almost every Thursday. He is quite popular with the residents
and staff. Due to his enormous size, 120 pounds and 36 inches at the back, he isn't the type
of dog the residents want to cuddle with, but they do love to see him do his tricks. Along with
the standard commands of "sit", "down", and "shake", Ernie has learned to bow, speak, wave
"bye-bye", dance (standing on his hind legs), and is learning to count. The residents are always
amazed that he is taller than me when he stands on his hind legs.

   One of the advantages that Ernie has over some of the smaller dogs, is the bed-ridden residents
can see him and pet him without leaning over.  This really came in handy with one resident that I
recall. Bob had been in the hospital in an unresponsive state. He was moved to the nursing facility
when there was nothing else the hospital could do for him. His body was functioning and his eyes
were open, but there was no response to anything. The nurse told me that his family had mentioned
that he used to have a dog, so we thought we would bring Ernie in for a visit. We brought Ernie
next to Bob's bed and the nurse placed Bob's hand on Ernie's head and moved it in a stroking
motion. After a few minutes, Bob made a grunting sound. The nurse said  this was the only reaction
she had seen from him in the week he had been there.

   The following week I brought Ernie back to see Bob. This time Bob's eyes actually followed
Ernie's movement past the foot of his bed. The nurse thought she felt some muscle movement
in his hand while she was helping him stroke Ernie. By the third week Bob was alert. He
moved his head while following Ernie's movement, he moved his hand to pet Ernie, and he was
making attempts to speak. We were really looking forward to seeing how much improvement Bob
would show by our fourth visit. Imagine my surprise when he wasn't there! The nurse said he had
improved enough to go home the previous day.

I can't say that Ernie was responsible for Bob's recovery, but I'm sure that he helped.

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