When life fails to deliver a miracle, sometimes compassion, love and understanding will walk through the door on four sturdy legs.
Variations of that theme were retold several times Sunday afternoon at the La Cañada Thursday Club when members of the nonprofit Hollywood Dog Obedience Club and their enthusiastic but polite therapy dogs shared the rewards of providing animal-assisted therapy to people in need.
Dog owner Jerry Werk of Santa Clarita told a story of her bushy Briard therapy dog, Liza, who accompanies her on monthly visits to Verdugo Hills Hospital. The dog and her owner were recently making their rounds when Werk poked her head into the hospital room of a man recovering from a leg amputation. The man was uninterested in seeing guests, so Werk began walking away.
“Then Liza stuck her head in, and the man said, ‘Wait a minute, I've got to see this dog,'” Werk said.
