Bernese mountain dog likes to visit the young and the old
If they'd let her, Gloria Piserchia, 87, said she'd make space in her room at Avalon Health Center in Mystic for a 145-pound Bernese mountain dog.
"I'd probably sleep on the floor with it," she said.
Piserchia wants the breed of dog because she's met 6-year-old Phantom, a lumbering therapy dog with a bear-like coat that's been making the rounds in Groton, Stonington and Waterford in recent months.
Michelle Lake, of Gales Ferry, owns Phantom with her husband, Kevin, and she brings the dog about once a week to Avalon Health Center, Apple Rehabilitation in Mystic and Atria at Crossroads Place in Waterford. Phantom also visits Groton Public Library once a month.
"We always just felt that he had an old soul," Lake said. "He makes a lot of people happy, and we just want to share him with people."
The couple named Phantom after a plane; Kevin Lake served in the Navy and met his wife at a Naval Air Station in Pennsylvania. They both liked a particular plane and learned it was an F-4 Phantom fighter jet.
Michelle Lake's aunt and uncle gave them Phantom as a housewarming gift. He was four months old, and Michelle Lake brought him to training young, she said. Even as a puppy, he was calm, she said.
"We'd walk him in Mystic Village all the time," she said. "He just sat there and wanted to be petted, and we thought he would have a really good temperament for therapy dog work."
Phantom is so tall he's almost eye-level with elderly residents in wheelchairs, so they don't have to bend over to see him. But he's calm enough that Lake can book a 2-hour block at the library, and he'll let children read to him.
"He just lays there," she said.
Lake, who works for Waterford Hotel Group as an accountant, took him first to "puppy kindergarten" at My Dog's Place in Mystic to learn basic commands like "sit," "stay" and "come."
Then she kept going. In July 2010, Phantom earned his American Kennel Club "Canine Good Citizen" certificate, which tests 10 behaviors including how a dog walks through a crowd, reacts to strangers and responds to distractions.
Last April, Phantom became registered with Therapy Dogs International, which requires dogs to pass a 13-part test. Some requirements: The dog must lie down and stay while its owner walks away, react calmly to startling noises, remain calm in a crowd despite yelling or strange gestures, and pass by food if told to "leave it."
Phantom is also a member of Dog Scouts of America, where animals earn "badges" by learning new behaviors or participating in activities like community service.
At home, Phantom likes to pull a cart and sled, Lake said. After the snow, he gave her mother a ride in the yard, she said. He's been visiting places as an emotional therapy dog since July.
"Even the staff enjoy it," Lake said. "It's just so great when they say, 'It's the first time he smiled today,' or when they say, 'Please go visit this person today. He had a bad day and we really need you.'"
Robert Crecca, 89, a former surgeon, patted Phantom as the dog sat in his room in Avalon.
Crecca had dogs all his life, so he enjoys their company.
Valerie Gillman, a friend of Crecca's, said the dog's visit breaks up the day and also reaches people who can't speak or move easily.
"Some people don't respond to much, but you bring a dog or something, their eyes light up," Gillman said. "It's almost a natural stimulant that's soothing."
Piserchia laughed as Phantom lapped up water Lake brought.
"This animal is so calm and gorgeous and attentive to the needs of people," Piserchia said.
She walked into her room and assessed it: If she moved the dresser, she'd have plenty of space.
"This bureau could go over there and the dog could have this whole section," she said. "Oh, I'd have room."
For more information about therapy dogs, go to www.tdi-dog.org.
D.STRASZHEIM@THEDAY.COM
TWITTER: @DSTRASZHEIM
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