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Lucas, a golden retriever-border collie mix, gently meandered around the circle of patients at the Richfield Memory Care Center, pausing to push closer to an outstretched hand. Most of the folks sat in wheelchairs, talking and laughing a little. One woman scooted herself around the back of the circle to follow Lucas, humming slightly to herself. And even though many of them might have forgotten their loved ones' names, they hadn't forgotten how to pet man's best friend. Lucas's owner, Jan Stice of Salem, started with her other golden retriever-collie mix, Crystal, in obedience classes about seven years ago.

"Everybody said I should ‘do something' with that dog," said Stice of her first dog, Crystal. Even as a puppy, Crystal was even-tempered and patient. At the SPCA, while many of the other dogs were restless and barking, Crystal was calm and mostly still. Stice, the then-newly retired medical secretary, wanted to give back to the community, and she found the perfect opportunity through the Delta Society.

And now, after six years of volunteering with Crystal and newer-adoptee Lucas, Stice is a registered Delta team evaluator. She validates the paperwork that certifies Delta owners and dogs under the auspices of the Delta Society.

Because "people change and dogs change, too," a Delta registered team has to be re-tested every two years. They must be familiar with a standard Delta manual and the dog must have a good foundation of obedience (classes help a lot with obedience training.)

"When you get to that goal, being a Delta Therapy Partner, that dog has to pay attention to you" with as little a command as a soft word, Stice said. She also teaches a pet therapy class at Star City Canine.

Stice feels strongly that training for Delta therapy dogs should not only have obedience, but should also be taught to fully focus on its owner and acclimate to hospital equipment. For the animal's safety, they need to learn to ignore food, pills, and other things that might be on the floor or patient's bedside. And because many of the patients they visit are easily bruised or scratched, they need to be trained to be extra gentle and to withstand heavy handed and erratic petting.

But is the volunteer visitation worth the training?

"You just see some of the people light up when the dog comes in the room," she said. Adjusting to long-term care and leaving home is difficult, and the older patients, just like everybody else, have good days and bad days. "Most of the time the staff will tell me that a patient was different after the dogs were here, but there are times when I can tell a huge, immediate difference." Positive reactions range from smiles to seemingly mute patients talking or vocalizing to the pups.

Another regular service activity for local Delta dogs is what started as "the dog days of summer" at the Glenvar Public Library. Kids (with and without canine friends at home) sign up to read to the quiet and faithful service dogs. It serves a double purpose: kids get the therapeutic benefit, and the dogs are also acclimated to children.

For more information about the Delta Society, visit http://www.deltasociety.org. To contact Jan Stice about local Delta service animal training or to get in touch with volunteers, email her at deltatherapygal@gmail.com.

To read a Roanoke Times' story from July 2008 about Delta Therapy dogs, click here.

Top photo: Jan Stice smiles and chats with WWII Veteran Frank Price while he pets Lucas, a golden retriever-collie mix.

Bottom photo: Matthew Sandridge reads to Diva the Rhodesian Ridgeback and her owner, Kelly Palmer.