Odie the Wonder Dog, our Certified Therapy Dog, is an equal opportunity therapist. When my wife Lisa takes him to the inner city after-school program for elementary kids, taking him for a short walk (and a licked face if wanted) as a reward for finishing a chapter or a book works well as an academic motivator. When we take him to the Rescue Mission for homeless men, his wagging tail and face licking bring smiles and laughter to those needful of such things, and a link to beginning conversations with the men living there. And when we drop by Furman University, he becomes an easer of stress at the end of the semester. There, he is hugged and petted and allowed to lick faces. Odie, a 90-pound pit mix rescue, truly loves to provide happiness to a wide variety of people. And an additional blessing is that we have him every day.
