Dog suffering the jobless blues

High unemployment has affected not just people. One dog owner says her uncanny canine is suffering from depression as a result of losing her job, too.

Gabby, a golden retriever/Lab mix trained as a certified canine therapist, loves to accompany her mistress, Sandra Gullickson, to work in elementary schools and nursing homes throughout Yuma County. However, Gabby became unemployed when Gullickson lost her job with Cooperative Extension in Yuma County's University of Arizona Outreach Program because of state funding cuts.

The first unemployed Monday that Gabby and Gullickson remained at home, Gabby sensed something was wrong.

“She's the only one I know who likes Monday mornings,” Gullickson said. “She doesn't like staying at home.”  

The dog knows it is time to go to work when wearing her special identification jacket. But ever since that Monday, she has not been dressed for work and shows symptoms of canine depression - moping around, sleeping a lot and not wanting to play with her toys.

“I used Gabby to show kids what a visiting dog was.” She explained that students whom Gabby visits are annually introduced to a book entitled "Rosie the Visiting Dog" by Stephanie Calmenson.

Because of the success of the five-year-old program in one school, word got out about Gabby's talents, resulting in their assisting about 20 schools last year, Gullickson said.

“Teachers used to use the dog as incentive to good classroom behavior,” said Gullickson.

Students who behaved well in class were allowed to attend special reading groups with Gabby, in which students read to the dog. Gullickson explained that students' reading ability improves when reading to a dog because the dog does not correct their errors.

“Sometimes when we would go to the schools for the children to read  to Gabby, the teachers would tell me that the kids practiced reading so they would not mess up for her. It is just sad that this program is no longer available for them.”

Apparently Gabby's sensitivity to people's special needs has brought out positive behaviors that not only surprised teachers but also gave consolation or confidence to others who have made her acquaintance.

“She has this sense of who needs more help,” said Gullickson. “She is able to pick out a kid who is upset and go to that child.

“One special needs kid had never spoken before when visiting the library,” Gullickson said, “but the dog got the kid to say 'Gabby.'”

Marty Cantrell, Yuma Elementary District 1 site manager for an after-school Discovery program at Rolle Elementary School, has seen what Gabby can do.

“The kids just light up when they see her,” says Cantrell. “It's a beautiful sight to see kids coming together and to see both the kids and the dog perk up.”

She added that Gabby, sensing their needs, “scoots her little body closer to the child and makes a connection. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it."

Gabby's assistance in the outreach program was not limited to schools. She has worked in nursing homes, where she would accompany students in first and fifth grades who read to the elderly. The first-graders would read; the fifth-graders would help them with unfamiliar words.

Nursing homes are where Gabby's uncanny canine abilities were first put to use, in fact.

“When we went into nursing homes,” Gullickson said, “we had to be there 10 hours to allow their personnel to evaluate the dog's ability to assist patients.”

Nursing home personnel wanted to be sure that the dog was not aggressive or a liability.

In one nursing home about five years ago, Gabby's instincts as a therapist left a lasting impression on her owner.

“One little man regularly came down in his wheelchair,” said Gullickson, recalling a therapy session at the nursing home. “But he failed to show up one morning, and I was told he was not feeling well. We went to his room, and Gabby, who doesn't normally get on furniture, got up onto the man's bed and lay beside him for about a half-hour. The next day the man died.”

Tim Gilliland, who teaches at Desert Mesa Elementary School, is also a local leader for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Originally, he provided Gabby and Gullickson basic obedience training in preparation for Gabby to be trained as a guide dog for the blind.

However, Gabby was unable to complete that program because of a medical issue. That didn't stop her.

Gilliland is also affiliated with Love on a Leash, a nonprofit organization that specializes in training, evaluation and certification procedures for therapy pets and their owners. Through that organization, Gabby became a certified canine therapist. The organization's purposes also include using trained animals as an educational experience and a teaching tool.

“Gabby and Sandra are two peas in a pod,” said Gilliland. “When Gabby returned to me from training with Guide Dogs for the Blind with a medical issue, it was clear that she needed a job, too.

"I would meet Sandra every morning and give her Gabby to use for the day in her role with 4-H. After a short while, it was clear that they belonged together full time. Giving Gabby up wasn't easy, but it was the right thing to do,” he said.

Elementary school teachers who have had Gabby in their classrooms can vouch for her teaching concepts that go beyond the textbook.

“The kids learned so much from the dog about what it is like to go out into stores and see a working dog and how to react toward it,” said Susie King, a third-grade teacher at McGraw Elementary School. She added that they learned the necessity of asking for permission before petting a working dog.

“The kids would all go crazy when Gabby would come in. She is so gentle,” King said.

When employed in the outreach program, Gullickson would go to a school, and students would immediately crowd around Gabby and her.

“They don't remember my name, but they do know hers,” quipped Gullickson. “I'm just her chauffeur. If she could drive, she'd be happy. She would just go without me.”

Jim Christenson, Arizona director of Cooperative Extension at the University of Arizona, said Gullickson was hired initially “on some temporary state funds.” He added that the university is “down almost 20 percent in our state budget.”  

“We will not offer the program through Cooperative Extension in Yuma,” Christenson said. “It may be provided by other organizations.”