‘Heroes’ on four feet
Pet therapy providers recognized for hospice work
MARSHALL — Together, they help bring smiles and comfort to others. This weekend, four area residents and their dogs were recognized as “Hometown Heroes” for their work bringing pet therapy to patients at Prairie Home Hospice and Community Care.
“They bring a sense of joy and comfort to these patients,” said Cindy Robinson of Modern Woodmen. “Their interactions with the dogs make them light up.”
On Saturday, Robinson and representatives of both the Modern Woodmen and Prairie Home Hospice presented Hometown Hero awards to pet therapy providers Jennifer Lundberg, Jim Thomasson, LaNaye Hennen and Robert Lichtsinn. Over the past few years, the four providers have been visiting Prairie Home Hospice patients together with their dogs.
“Thank you. I honestly did not expect that,” Hennen said, as she accepted her award.
Each of Saturday’s award recipients had different things that got them interested in pet therapy. Hennen said for her, the idea started when she heard about plans to build the Minnesota Veterans Home in Montevideo.
“I have a soft spot for vets,” she said. “I wanted to get a dog to do therapy visits up there.”
Hennen’s golden retriever Dixie started training as a puppy to be a therapy dog, and today Hennen and Dixie make visits at hospice houses, hospitals, schools and veterans homes.
Lundberg has been providing pet therapy at Prairie Home since 2021. She started out working with her dog Max, and now she visits patients with her dog Meena. Meena, described as a “super mutt” by the award presenters, was adopted from the Tracy Animal Rescue at 10 months old. Meena was certified as a therapy dog in 2022. Robinson and Lundberg said Meena visits patients, and also serves as the office therapy dog at Prairie Home Hospice and Community Care.
Jim Thomasson and his German shepherd Layla started volunteering with Prairie Home Hospice in 2022. Thomasson said the idea Layla might make a good therapy dog came from seeing how gentle Layla was when Thomasson would visit his mother at her nursing home. Thomasson’s daughter encouraged him to get Layla certified as a therapy dog.
Now, Thomasson and Layla visit hospices, assisted living centers and nursing homes. The volunteer work is fun, Thomasson said.
“I like to visit with people, and the dog breaks the ice for me,” he said.
Lichtsinn and his dog Scooter were not able to be at Saturday’s award ceremony, but presenters said they wanted to recognize their work volunteering at Prairie Home Hospice.
Robinson said Lichtsinn and Scooter are the newest pet therapy volunteers at Prairie Home Hospice. They started visiting the Lockwood and McLaughlin hospice houses in May. Scooter is a pomapoo — a mix of a Pomeranian and a poodle — and has a “spunky” personality, Robinson said.
The award recipients said spending time with hospice patients and other groups wasn’t only something they found rewarding. Their dogs loved it as well.
“She thrives on this,” Hennen said of Dixie. On Saturday, Dixie was busy enjoying the attention and petting she was getting at the award ceremony.