Puppy gets taste of future as therapy dog
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As she grows, Anastasia will find she not only has almost two dozen fashionable outfits to grow into, but she also has some very big shoes to fill.
Anastasia, a 16-week-old Rottweiler, is in training to be a pet therapy dog and took a large step toward that goal Sunday at the annual Family Day at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Oakland.
For her first visit, Anastasia, wearing a head band and bikini top with coordinating skirt, had students, families and staff laughing as she licked hands and faces.
"I loved feeling her wet nose," said Megan Evans, 14, of Ross.
Linda Seman, of Belle Vernon, said she didn't know how Anastasia appears to her daughter, Cassandra, 12. But she knows petting the dog makes her daughter happy.
Pupils at the school are visually impaired and some have other disabilities.
Anastasia, owned by Laura Sokolovic, of Whitehall, was there as part of Three Rivers Family Hospice's volunteer pet therapy program.
Anastasia readily took treats from pupils in wheelchairs, but required some help from Ms Sokolovic to reach them. The puppy is 36 pounds now, but, as she grows -- her father is 170 pounds -- she'll be expected to carry her own weight, as did her predecessor, the popular Athena, who was the subject of a South article Feb. 23, "Joy, love spread by instinct."
For five years, Athena, a 110-pound Rottweiler, spread joy by cozying up to special needs pupils and residents of nursing and retirement homes. She averaged four visits a month, more around the holidays.
So beloved was Athena that, after her death from bone cancer Feb. 15, a tribute to her was held at Three Rivers Hospice. Athena died shortly before her 8th birthday.
At that time, Norman Rish, owner of Three Rivers Hospice and Family Home Health Services, said that, when Ms. Sokolovic was ready, he wanted to buy her another dog.
On May 11, she flew to Omaha, Neb., to choose a dog from a breeder specializing in Rottweilers from European lines.
When Anastasia kept licking her face, "I knew that was the one," Ms. Sokolovic said.
Mr. Rish paid $2,000 for the dog.
At 13 pounds, Anastasia was small enough to ride in a carrier under Ms. Sokolovic's seat in the plane on the trip home, and cute enough to merit a cuddle from the pilot in the cockpit.
Once here, Anastasia inherited lots of the cute outfits that Athena used.
Today, Anastasia is a student at the Golden Triangle Obedience Training Club in Pleasant Hills, working to get a pet therapy certification by the time she's a year old.
Sunday's event, said Ms. Sokolovic, was good experience for the dog to get acquainted with wheelchairs and walkers.
Also participating in the program were two kittens from the White Oak Animal Safe Haven, a no-kill shelter. They were brought to the event by White Oak Mayor Ina Jean Marton to appeal to the youngsters' keen sense of touch.
First Published July 20, 2006 12:00 am
