Roxy Reporter - Winter 2018

Hi, it’s me Titan again.

Thank You for your Generous Support!

Just wanted to give a big WOOF to everyone who was so generous and replied to my appeal to help raise funds to recruit more dogs and therapy teams to join me in the courthouse, elementary and high schools, group homes, and the hospital.

Thanks to YOU, we are well on our way to meeting our goal to beat last year’s total. We could not do what we do for all of the children without our generous parents, supporters, volunteers, and community members.

If you would like to help fund more furry volunteers, please go to roxytherapydogs.org/donate/

A special THANK YOU goes to the Central Bucks High School West Interact Club (the high school arm of Rotary International) and BARC (Bringing Animals Relief Club) for PAWSitively wonderful help in October for our annual mailing. Over 40 high school students helped with folding, addressing, stamping and stuffing a mailing of over 1,300 letters and Year In Review newsletters to Roxy families, donors and supporters. This was a big job! We also had 3 furry friends helping cheer the kids on: Maggie, Finn & Atticus! Not so good at folding and stuffing however, but great with hugs and licks!

A very special thank you goes out to the Central Bucks School District Print Office for doing a great job in printing the mailing!

Thank you again for your generous help and support for Roxy.

Literacy for All

The 2017-18 school year launched with an amazing energy and enthusiasm for our Literacy for All Program. By far, this year has been one of the busiest and most exciting we have experienced with over 20 new requests for teams in our elementary schools. Today Roxy visits over 100 classes on a weekly basis! A special thanks to our volunteer teams who have stepped up to help support the additional requests and to our new teams who have jumped in to help with much enthusiasm!

We are off to a great school year. Thank you to all of our teachers, students, parents and teams!

A Very Special Courthouse Project

Roxy Therapy Dogs is so very pleased to announce that the Orphans Court division of the Bucks County Bar Association made a very generous donation and provided 500 special coloring book and crayon activity bags for children in the Dependency Court. Sometimes these children spend several hours waiting to see the judge and these wonderful activity bags will be a special way for them to do something fun that will also remind them of their positive experience with Roxy Therapy Dogs.

Thank you so very much to the Bucks County Bar Association for your extreme generosity!

On the Road to Eagle Scout

Will Forker and his hand-crafted donations

Will Forker, a student at CB East High School, is a life-long Scout. Will approached Roxy Therapy Dogs with a plan that would help him to earn his highly prestigious Eagle Scout badge. Obtaining an Eagle Scout badge is a lengthy process; it’s not just handed out to any Scout.

Will asked if there was anything that he could build for Roxy Therapy Dogs that could be used at events or at any of the venues we visit. He and Roxy President, Sharon Fleck, put their heads together and came up with a project, which was approved by Will’s Scout Leaders. The project took 10 months from start to finish.

The results are a beautiful wood table for Roxy to use at events, a wood bin (complete with a latch) for storage, and a sturdy book shelf to be housed at the Bucks County Courthouse.

All of us at Roxy Therapy Dogs are so very thankful to Will for thinking of us and for his beautiful hand-crafted wood furniture. We will use all of these items for years to come!

A CB West Bereavement Group Welcome

Roxy Therapy Dogs visited several sessions of CB West High School’s Grief and Loss group during the Fall semester. The group is designed to support students who have lost a parent and the students look forward to the Roxy teams’ visits. According to Lisa Corr, CB West Guidance Counselor and Roxy Board Member, the dogs are a huge calming factor and their presence helps to ‘break the ice’ as students get to know each other. Students commented that the dogs’ presence and affectionate gestures make it easier for them to share memories or process difficult emotions during the group sessions.

An Inspiring Teen

At 15 years old, Maddi Fleck is the only Certified Junior Volunteer for Roxy Therapy Dogs. Maddi is also very involved with a local magazine called Inspiring Teens Magazine. Below is an excerpt from an article that she recently wrote about our Literacy For All program.

“Roxy Therapy Dogs is somewhat of a pioneer in providing a therapy dog program geared towards helping children improve their reading skills. It has served as a model for other school districts, both local and national, as more and more studies have shown the many benefits of therapy dogs.”

To read the full article, visit www.inspiringteensmagazine.com/2017/09/09/reading-therapy-dogs/

Memorials

All of us at Roxy Therapy Dogs have such fond memories of these sweet dogs. They will be missed greatly by many.

Grace

In October our Roxy family lost one of our pioneers. Grace (right) was the 2nd dog (only preceded by Roxy herself) to join Roxy Therapy Dogs. She visited children at Gayman Elementary school for 12 years and comforted children at the Bucks County Courthouse as well. When she wasn’t busy comforting children, Grace was an AKC Champion!

Luke

Our Roxy Therapy Dogs family lost one of our beloved canine volunteers in November. Luke was a bright, shining light and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He visited students at Jamison Elementary school, he comforted children at the Bucks County Courthouse, and he was especially treasured at Doylestown Hospital, where he made many visits to lift the spirits of pediatric patients and staff alike.

New Roxy Teams

Cooper and Joelle

Cooper is a gentle, loving and very happy 3 year old Golden Retriever. His birthday is March 22. Cooper and his handler, Joelle, are a wonderful couple together!
Joelle said they are interested in the Hospital, Pedia Manor and Courthouse programs. They are very interested in visiting on the weekends and eager to attend Roxy community events.
**Welcome Cooper and Joelle!**

Taco and Coline

Taco is a welcome addition to Doylestown Hospital’s animal assisted activity program. His handler, Coline, reports that Taco, a Pomeranian mix rescue, was named by her sons who said he looks “like a messy Taco.” Hmm.
Taco is a well-groomed perfect gentleman who’s charming patients, visitors and staff already.
**Welcome to Coline and Taco!**

A Heart Hug from Finn

Cheryl Luginbuhl shared a heartwarming story about an interaction between her dog Finn and a clergyman she met outside of Doylestown Hospital. Cheryl describes how she was walking Finn outside in preparation for their shift at the hospital when they encountered a clergyman exiting the hospital. Cheryl describes how she could just tell, just by the look on his face, that he was obviously undergoing something very difficult.

When Cheryl and Finn greeted him, the clergyman asked if he could have a moment with Finn. Cheryl describes how Finn, normally very rambunctious, instinctively placed his face in the man’s lap and stared up into his eyes. She describes this as Finn’s “soul scan.” She then describes how Finn instinctively knew to press his head against the man’s chest, to which the man responded by embracing Finn and hung his head, falling into what Cheryl calls Finn’s “heart hug.”

Finn and the man stayed in that position for what seemed like a very long time. Cheryl, knowing she was witnessing a private moment between the two, backed away and allowed them to sit undisturbed. When the man stood up, he thanked Finn, and turned to Cheryl to say “You will never know what that meant. Thank you all for all that you do.” This story perfectly portrays the very heart of the dogs, volunteers, supporters and the organization’s mission.

For more heartwarming stories, visit our website at roxytherapydogs.org/category/testimonials/

Roxy Therapy Dogs’ first Children’s Book!

Books Available Now for a $15.00 Donation Plus Shipping

Go to roxytherapydogs.org/be-like-bud/ to find out more.

Roxy Therapy Dogs's Mission: Bringing comfort to children, enhancing the experience of learning, and enriching the lives of canine and human volunteers.

Stacy DonnellyJanuary 22, 2018