A day in the life of Blue the therapy dog

March 12-- Mar. 12--Blue the therapy dog is a busy little guy. He and his handler Judy Bailey spend their days visiting nursing homes and hospitals in attempts to spread joy to the residents.

Bailey and Blue invited the paper to spend a day shadowing them, so we could see just how much of an impact Blue left on the people he visited.

We met at Rosepine Retirement and Rehab facility, and as soon as Blue made his way through the door, you could feel the mood in the room lift.

During our visit something remarkable took place.

As Blue was visiting with one resident, their roommate woke up and began to interact with Blue. Bailey asked the resident if they had a dog, to which they responded "yes."

This response came as a surprise to the other resident in the room, who then share with us that their roommate had not spoken a word in the three-plus months since the two had been in the same room.

The resident who had not spoken before spent the rest of the visit conversating in full sentences, petting Blue and remembering their own dog. The roommate was moved to tears.

For Bailey and Blue seeing such a drastic change in personality is nothing new, but it is still heart-warming to see.

Many of the residents were excited to see "their friend Blue," and Blue was just as happy to see them.

We wandered down each hallway of the facility popping into each room as we went.

At each door, Bailey would knock and ask permission to enter. If granted permission, Blue and Bailey would walk up to the resident for them to pet Blue.

Blue is an intuitive dog, he seemed to be able to sense who he needed to lay his head on or who just wanted to pet him.

Throughout the whole morning, Blue never lost his cool, never made a peep and never left the side of Bailey.

Blue and Bailey are apart of the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, meaning they are both certified through the Alliance to work as a therapy dog and a handler.

Blue is one of the few therapy dogs in our area, but Bailey is working hard to change this.

Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) website says its mission is: "We are an international registry of certified therapy dog teams.

"At ATD, we provide testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance for members who volunteer with their dogs in animal-assisted activities. Our objective is to form a network of caring individuals and their special dogs are willing to share smiles and joy with people, young and old alike."

This means dogs and handlers who operate as therapy dogs have tests they must pass and certifications they must earn before going out in the public.

Blue and Judy work between within Beauregard and Vernon Parish.

For more information on ATD visit therapydogs.com or contact Judy Bailey at [email protected]

Editor's Note: In Friday's edition of the paper we will dive into the difference between therapy dogs and service animals as well as the emerging studies that show the benefits of what Blue and Judy do each day.

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