Q: What did you have to do to get Rojo certified? A: Actually, the certification process involves an evaluation of the "handler", as much as it does the animal that will be used in the therapy visitations. We are certified together as "therapy teams"- and must complete, and pass together, the various requirements set forth by DoveLewis, and the Delta Society.
Our process started with an initial meeting with the head of the Animal-Assisted Therapy Program at DoveLewis, where she asked me questions about Rojo and what I would like to do with him regarding therapy use; she touched Rojo all over to see how he would react; we went for a walk down the busy Portland street to see if all the activity bothered him, then took him inside the building to see how calm he was indoors, how he manuvered in close areas, and how he interacted with people around him. Most of the staff at DoveLewis had never been up close to a llama before, so it was very fun to introduce them to Rojo!
The next step was an 8 hour training class for Shannon and myself, to learn about the general procedures for visitations, safety concerns, animal handling skills for various situations, understanding the different environments we may encounter, etc. We went through the Delta Society Training Manual, watched videos, did role- playing activities, and had several question and answer sessions- it was all very informative and helpful.
The following week after we completed the classroom training, DoveLewis had a "lab" set up within their facility, where we brought Rojo and took him through different rooms which provided a variety of unusual environments to test his, and our, response. There were a number of DoveLewis staff and volunteers playing the part of people we might encounter during our visitations. Some had walkers, wheelchairs, or canes; some had funny hats, spoke very loud, acted disoriented, bumped Rojo from behind, dropped things close to him, brought dogs up to Rojo, hugged him extra long, and petted him clumsily. There was a small room set up like a hospital with noisy machines, and IV lines, with a person laying in bed that we had to walk Rojo in to visit, and back him back out without disturbing the equipment. Toward the end, we went into an area where a young child simulated the "Read to the Dogs Program" DoveLewis freely offers to schools- by that time, Rojo was a bit bored because the little girl was reading, and not petting him, so he decided to take a "potty-break"- thankfully he was wearing his "protective garment", and the floors were spared! The whole "lab" process lasted a little over an hour, and Rojo did fantastic!
The final step was to take Rojo across town for our Final Team Evaluation, which took place in a "doggie daycare" facility. Evaluators for DoveLewis and Delta had us take Rojo through a series of tasks and situations to see how we would both respond. Because Shannon and I both wanted to be certified with Rojo, we each had to take him through separately, which was a bit challenging because Shannon took him through first, and then I had to wait a couple of hours for some dogs to be tested before I could take him through the second time. We took some hay and treats, and took him for walks in-between. Rojo was a bit more restless the second time through, but still did very well for me. We thought the final would be almost the same as the lab, but it was quite a bit different. The Final Evaluation was more controlled, and a score sheet was used to rate our performance on each task. Shannon and I were mainly rated on whether we were "proactive" and "smooth", or "reactive" and "stressed" during our interactions, and Rojo was rated on whether he was "relaxed" and "smooth", or "stressed" and "fearful" in each situation. They had us walk through a group of people with walkers and wheelchairs, pass off his lead to strangers, drop the lead and walk away for a few minutes, swirled scarves over and under his head, dropped things on the floor around him, surrounded him with people petting him all over and asking us questions, had us walk up to a dog with its owner, and let people feed him treats. We all scored very well- the only time Rojo reacted when I took him through was when he was surprised by a hanging windsock behind him that he hadn't noticed before, but he regained his composure quickly. The evaluators did a great job of being relaxed themselves around Rojo, even though they had never tested a llama before, and that really helped him do well throughout the process. After completing the evaluation, our pictures were taken with Rojo, which were made into DoveLewis badges that we attach to the yellow band that Rojo wears when we are representing DoveLewis in public.
A: This past year we have focused primarily on visiting senior communities and rehab facilities within the Portland/Vancouver area. Rojo has done a few school visits to educate children about llamas, but the response, and need, for therapy use among seniors has been overwhelming. All of the facilities we have visited have been wonderful, caring, environments, and have welcomed us with open arms. Every time we take Rojo to visit an assisted living community or rehab center, we are blessed more than the residents, as we observe the impact Rojo is making to enrich so many lives. We have seen people that haven't verbalized or been responsive to other types of therapy treatments in months, attempting to speak, and trying to sit up and reach out to touch Rojo; others that don't usually want to leave their rooms, eager to come out when they know Rojo is there; tears of joy when we make in-room visits, bringing Rojo right into the "living rooms" and along the bedside, of those who are no longer able to walk to the main meeting room. The surprise and delight that Rojo brings to these wonderful seniors has been rewarding beyond words!
As much as we love taking Rojo to visit the elderly in our community, there seems to be an even greater need for his gifts within schools and facilities for at-risk and special-needs children, and for children with long-term medical needs. We will continue to do visits among seniors, but will be shifting our primary focus in order to help bring joy and hope for these children in the days, and years, to come.
A: Rojo is involved in many local parades and various community events (check out our "Upcoming Events" page). As representatives of DoveLewis, we try to participate in as many fundraising, and public relations opportunities as possible that will bring attention to the many beneficial programs and services DoveLewis provides. We feel strongly about doing these types of events, as well as our adult-care and school visitations, as unpaid volunteers representing DoveLewis- we thoroughly enjoy being able to give back, and bring joy to our community through sharing our llamas.
In the future, we would love to do more corporate picnics, birthday parties, and other private events that could provide a bit of income to offset the costs involved in our volunteer work. The price of gas and automotive care, as well as personal time involved, forces us to limit how many volunteer requests we can reasonably fill, and it is very difficult to have to say no because we just can't afford to take Rojo out more than two or three times each week. We believe that eventually, as he gains more exposure through these public events, more people will want to "rent" Rojo, and this will help us with our volunteer expenses.