My Pet Partner team-mate, Mia, is a “Bassador” (basset/lab mix), adopted from Washington Basset Res= cue. You would have to see her in person to believe it!! I adopted Mia 4 years ago. At that time, she was just a year old. In the first year of Mia’s life, she was bounced from one home to another…she had be= en both abandoned and dropped off at shelters. She had a very rough start in life. Mia was confident, very sweet, and outgoing from the very beginning. However, it took a number of month= s for her to really trust me. The moment of realization that she would be a wonde= rful Pet Partner, came to me when we had been together for about 6 months. One evening, I came home after a v= ery challenging and stressful day. As I sat on the stairs collecting my thoughts, Mia happily bounced down the stai= rs, stopping at the step behind me. She propped her head on my shoulder and began givin= g me kisses on the face. She continued doing this, as if she intuitively knew th= at I needed extra TLC. Even though she had always been sweet and friendly, this = was the first time I had ever seen her give of herself so freely to me. At that moment, I realized that Mia= had the very special gift of being a therapy dog. Being a current Pet Partner with my other dog, Byron, as well as a counselor working with at risk youth, I knew immediately what the next step would be. Upon becoming a Pet Partner,= Mia started working with my individual clients and students in the school setti= ng. As a counselor, I frequently utilize Mia’s story, personality, and unique appearance as an Animal-Assisted Therapy technique with clients. Many times, my clients relate to Mia’s issues as a rescued dog…they are able to easily connect to her, and therefore become more engaged in the counseling process. Mia is a natural at her job…she absolutely adores working with children and adolescents. It never ceases to amaze me how she will so openly and freely give of herself. S= he always seems to intuitively know who needs the most attention at any given time.

With her light-hearted, confident, and gregarious nat= ure, Mia inspires confidence and self-esteem in her clients and students. She teaches kids how to trust and be openly vulnerable. As a chemical dependency counselor, I work with at-risk, substance abusing and chemically dependent clients. One client with whom Mia was worki= ng with was a 14 year-old client of mine in the junior high school setting. This young girl struggled with a v= ariety of issues including: low self-esteem, body-image, depression, self-harming behaviors, and heavy substance abuse. She had very few friends, and would frequently be picked on for being “different”. I met with her weekly at school, and during the course of our sessions she became extremely connected to Mia. One day, she came to me very upset because she had been bullied by a group of girls. She reported to me that the girls = had cornered her in the bathroom and relentlessly called her names, picking on = her for her physical appearance. = She was beside herself with feelings of rejection and sadness. That same week, Mia and I had been involved in a teachable moment involving a group of oth= er students at the same school. I proceeded to tell my client about this particular experience. I told her that while taking Mia o= utside for a break, I had overheard a group of other kids at school making fun of Mia’s appearance…making comments such as “What a weird dog…she’s so ugly”. I decided to go up to the students, and introduce Mia. I told them her story, describing = how she had gone from being a rescued dog to a therapy dog. Slowly, the students moved closer a= nd closer to Mia, smiling, petting, and hugging her as she gave them “kisses”. They we= re so impressed with Mia, they started saying “W= ow, she is such a cool dog….she’s really neat, what a friendly dog!” I processed with = the kids the importance of accepting differences in others, as well as embracing our own individuality. At the= end of our conversation, I stated “See…it’s ok to be differen= t, our uniqueness is what makes us who we are”.

Upon telling this story to my client, she looked at me with a horrified expression and said “How can anybody think= that Mia is ugly? She is so cute&#= 8221;. I gave her a knowing look. She then looked at me with tears in= her eyes, and said “Oh, I get it…Mia is just like me”. Her comment led us into a discussi= on about her own self-esteem…we began exploring her unique talents and individuality. She, Mia, and I continued to work together weekly and slowly she made more and more progres= s. Three years have now passed, and I= am pleased to say that this client has gone on to make so many amazing changes= in her life. She even became a r= ole model and leader with many other kids at her school…many of these kids looked up to her and would later describe her as being “confident and= an individual”. This exper= ience stands out in my mind as a testimony to how powerful AAT can be, when utili= zed as a tool in the healing process with clients.