When Cassandra Banning and her mellow Shih Tzu, Bonnie, entered a nursing home in Dade City, they immediately noticed a man slumped over in his chair. His head was down, and his eyes focused on the floor.
His disposition was the exact reason the pair had come to the home. Bonnie was training to become a therapy dog.
Banning approached the man with Bonnie in her arms.
“Would you like to pet her?” Banning asked.
He looked unsure at first but began to stroke the well groomed dog. The chilly look on his face began to melt. Within a minute, his smile stretched to both ears.
Banning has many similar stories about the joy 2-year-old Bonnie has brought to those in nursing homes.
One woman followed the team around her nursing home in a wheelchair, wanting to pet Bonnie one more time. Another resident, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, couldn’t remember Banning’s name, but he could remember Bonnie’s.
Bonnie earned her Canine Good Dog certification through The American Kennel Club, June 27, after receiving her Canine Good Citizen designation. The Plant City dog is perfect for therapy work. Walking up to the Banning’s home in Walden Lake, not a bark comes from the house to alert of a visitor.
“Her personality really fit,” Banning said.
“She really likes attention, I’ll tell you that,” Banning’s husband, George, said. “Not in an obnoxious way, though. She just likes attention.”
The Bannings noticed Bonnie’s healing ways when an ill friend came to visit. She didn’t leave his side the entire time. She continued the behavior, cuddling up to family members every time they were sick. Cassandra asked her veterinarian about Bonnie’s character; the doctor agreed Bonnie would make a perfect therapy dog.
Cassandra downloaded a test and began to teach Bonnie herself. When they graduated to the more advanced material, Cassandra decided to take Bonnie to a trainer at PetSmart for an evaluation.
Bonnie was so disciplined that she was able to skip the beginner and intermediate courses.
“It was challenging, but it was fun at the same time,” Cassandra said about training Bonnie. “You learn so much about handling your dog.”
Because Bonnie was capable and earned her Canine Good Citizen designation, she skipped the training with Therapy Dogs Inc. and went straight into her three observations, which took place at two nursing homes and one library.
Snuggled up next to Cassandra’s feet on the kitchen floor, Bonnie shows the relaxed poise that allowed her to become certified. The pet is a princess, with pillows and beds in every room of the Banning home. She even rides to therapy observations in her own stroller.
But, she wasn’t always so spoiled.
The Bannings adopted the Shih Tzu about a year ago from the Hillsborough County Animal Shelter. She was found abandoned in a field.
At the time, the Bannings also owned a 17-year-old Shih Tzu, Britney, whom they got from a breeder.
“I never thought about adopting from a shelter, because you’re going to get all kinds of mixes,” George said. “But, they are fabulous. We would do it again in a heartbeat.”
In addition to her work as a therapy dog, Bonnie enjoys weekly play dates with her “friends” at Timberlane Pet Hospital and Suites. There, she has befriended another dog, who was also in the shelter with her.
“They remember each other from their time in jail,” Cassandra said, jokingly.
Now that Cassandra and Bonnie are certified as a team, they are eager to start bringing smiles to people. South Florida Baptist Hospital is interested in having the duo come for visits.
Cassandra also wants to take Bonnie to Bruton Memorial Library to help with the Paws for Reading Program, where children are introduced to literacy by reading to dogs. During one of Bonnie’s observations, she listened as a 7-year-old boy read to her, at the Dade City Library.
“One of the greatest therapies is just talking to her,” George said.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.