In the Loop: Pet therapy gives back by getting some fur in the game

Cindi Thurston's first encounter with a therapy dog may have come under unfortunate circumstances, but the imprint it left would change her life for the better. In a column for Wisconsin's Dunn County News, Cindi writes that first meeting took place while her then 10-year-old daughter was hospitalized with a serious medical condition. "We were hours away from home, spending nights in the hospital, and watching my daughter struggle," she writes. "We tried movies, books, crafts and anything we could think of to take our minds off her condition.

Then one morning a pet therapy team came to visit. "The dog was placed on my daughter's hospital bed, and I could feel some of the anxiety and stress go away for her and me," Cindi writes. "The dog was cute, cuddly and happy, all of which we needed at the time." Though the interaction was brief, its impact was not. "I promised myself I would someday try to pay back that gift given to us by that pet therapy team," Cindi writes. Read the rest of Cindi's story.
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This story originally appeared on the In the Loop blog.