Click on Image of Athena The Therapy Dog

"Athena - The Therapy Dog"

Athena is a 10 year old greyhound.  She retired from the racetrack at age 4.  Now during her retirement years she serves as a Pet Therapy Dog in the Helen Woodward Animal Center Program bringing unconditional love and tactile benefits to people in need. 

In order to become a therapy dog, Athena had to pass a stringent test which included knowing the "leave it" command, be able to show that unusual or loud noises didn't affect her and be able to adjust to greeting people in wheelchairs.  Dogs also need to have a very low prey drive as most visits include other animals - a dog, cat or even a rabbit.  This can sometimes pose a problem for greyhounds who tend to have a high prey drive due to their race training. 

Athena goes out on visits once each week to convalescent centers, Alzheimer's facilities, psychiatric centers or children's outreach programs.  Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

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