North Star Therapy Animals

Therapy Animal Services in Minnesota

Kathi & Cooper Honored by MSP Airport

North Star Therapy Animals team Kathi & Cooper were given a MSP Nice Award by the MSP Airport for providing excellence in customer service!

A recent visitor took the time to submit the following compliment: “Thank you for the Therapy Dog, “Cooper”. I have never seen such a program in another airport, and being able to pet him and speak with his handler was very relaxing and made the day better. I also noticed how much more at ease and happy people were that visited with him. Please keep doing this program.”

Tenure Award for NSTA Member Toby

It was a special ceremony for North Star Therapy Animals member Toby, who along with his handlers Yvonne and Larry, received a very special recognition from St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development.

They honored Toby with a Tenure Award for his TEN (10!!) incredible years of therapy animal service to the center. The picture may not be perfect, but that’s because Toby was so excited from all the applause and cheers!

Thanks to Yvonne, Larry, & Toby for making such an incredible difference in so many lives. Below is just one example of the special sentiments that were shared for Toby’s ceremony (see third photo):

“A day we get to see Toby is a day full of joy and beauty! Toby is the epitome of patience, tolerance, and service to others; selflessly allowing countless little fingers (and old ones) to pull at his sweet old face and graying fur. A person by all right, Toby is most loved. Congratulations Toby, on your ten year service award – ten years of careful listening to stumbling words, ten years of soft doggy kisses on needy faces, ten years of calming the fears and anxieties of old and young souls, ten years of putting the desires and needs of others before your own. God bless you, Sweet Boy!”

NSTA Team Cheryl & Wilson Bann Receive WCCO Good Neighbor Award

Cheryl and Wilson Bann received the WCCO Good Neighbor award. The nomination was submitted by an individual who knew of Cheryl & Wilson’s therapy team work around the Twin Cities and highlighted their work at the VA Hospital in the Polytrauma unit, Methodist Hospital, and various other facilities in the area.

Wilson, a Chocolate Lab / Chesapeake mix and Cheryl were initially registered as a therapy team by Pet Partners in 2013. Since that time, they have actively participated in an array of different therapy team settings. Said Cheryl, “Our therapy team work has taken us to hospitals, dementia care settings, senior centers, the University of Minnesota, the MSP airport and other locations where we can interact one on one with individuals. Additionally, Wilson and I are a R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) team and were instrumental in helping to establish the pet ministry at Pax Christi Catholic Church.”

The team has found therapy team work to be rewarding. Added Cheryl, “Receiving the WCCO Good Neighbor Award was an honor and we are delighted to have received it.” The team also was featured in the Minneapolis VA Hospital Volunteer Publication in January for their continued work with veterans at the hospital.

Congratulations on being recognized for your outstanding work, Cheryl & Wilson!

A Very Special Visit

Many people are familiar with the great work of our therapy dogs. But did you know North Star Therapy Animals has therapy cats, therapy guinea pigs, therapy rabbits, and – yes, even therapy miniature horses!

Member Carolyn Peterson shared this wonderful photo as she and her miniature horse Tinkie stroll the hallway of a nursing home where they visit.

Carolyn shared this great story with us about a visit with her other miniature horse Smokey: “On one visit we stopped by a resident in a wheelchair. She didn’t speak at all to us, but reached out to stroke Smokey on the nose and neck. I talked with her even though there was no response back. After a little while, we moved along to other residents in the hallway and throughout the center. That evening my sister-in-law, an RN at the nursing home, called to tell me what happened after our visit. She said after we left, the lady who hadn’t spoken a word and hadn’t spoken in over three months, talked and talked to everyone about the horse that came to see her that day. I was in tears after I heard that. What an amazing thing to hear!”

Keesha Has A Birthday

Keesha and her handler, Kathy Gardner, visit the first grade classrooms at L C Webster Elementary School in North St. Paul on a weekly basis. The children adore Keesha, and can’t wait for their turn to read to her.

Recently Keesha celebrated her 9th birthday on a day the team was visiting the school, and they were surprised to find the children had made Keesha a wonderful birthday card and bought her a gift bag of awesome treats! They also all sang Happy Birthday to Keesha (who looked a bit confused) and gave her birthday hugs on the way out the door.

Reading with the children is Keesha’s favorite activity. “She seems to know which day we will be visiting, as she begins to prance and wait at the door early in the morning,” Kathy says. In addition to weekly visits to the school, Kathy & Keesha also participate in the Dakota County Wentworth Library Waggin’ Tails program in West St. Paul on a monthly basis.

Happy Birthday Keesha – and keep up the fantastic work!

paw-logo-white-transparent60Leaving paw prints on the hearts of those we visit

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