Genia,
I am shivering and crying, thinking of all your daughter, you and your family went through after that terrible accident. My daughter is the same age as yours was at the time of her accident.
I am not involved in any kind of pet therapy in my area, but I know it is effective. I can remember one Christmas that we had ice and cold, I felt I couldn't leave my cat and hamster at home (just in case the power went out). So off we all went, dog, hamster, cat, to my parent's house for Christmas. My grandmother (who passed away last week at 95)came from the nursing home to have lunch. I put Rusty, the hamster, in her hands and she smiled as big as she had in months. In her younger days, he would have scared her to death. Just that little sign of excitement and happiness let me know how effective pets of any kind can be to those who are hospitalized or elderly.
I hope you can work it out to use your dog in a similar program.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Logan

Pam, I forgot to say congratulations to you and your congregation for a wonderful gift you are giving to your community. We should all learn from it.
LG


[This message has been edited by lhg0962 (edited December 16, 2000).]