By Patricia Hudson –
Undoubtedly one of the best commercials airing currently is one sponsored by a dog food company. The scene: a hospital room where a sick young girl lies in her hospital bed, resignedly offering her arm for yet another dreaded “treatment.” The nurse says, “We’re going to try something different, today.” To the little girl’s delight, a Grand Pyrenees /Bernese Mountain Dog mix trots in to bringing cheer her way. Coles Crossing resident, Mary Anne Heckman bills herself as a “Graphic designer, photographer, golden retriever lover and pet therapy volunteer.” It is her love of her goldens and her work as a pet therapy volunteer that garners attention for this Cypress resident.
Why did you decide to become a dog therapy volunteer?
“I was at lunch with a friend and she told me about Faithful Paws. I decided that would be rewarding and a fun thing to do since my graphic design work had slowed down. This was in 2017. The dog therapy helped me recover from what a terrible year 2017 was. My mother was in the hospital from January, until she passed away in May. My sister and I had to deal with readying donations and an estate sale; the company that did it was AWFUL. Both of my previous goldens died in January 2017; I had Finn for two days before I put the first one, Buffett, to sleep. Hurricane Harvey flooded the house I had inherited from my mother. Work on the house had been finished just two days before the hurricane came; there was even a “Coming Soon for Sale” sign in the yard. I wrote Connie Richards, founder of Faithful Paws, telling her how much she and Faithful Paws meant to me and how they saved me from a terrible time in my life.”
Are Finn and Sharky rescue dogs?
No, they both came from show dog breeders. I did not want to show my dogs, so I bought pets. I was already doing therapy with Finn when I got Sharky, so that was my purpose immediately with Sharky.
What are their strengths?
They are completely different dogs when they go for therapy visits. They know that is their job, and know what to do. Sharky really loves kids and Finn loves everyone.
Heather Sessions and Mary Anne bonded over their love of Golden Retrievers. “After I lost my Goldens, Ellie Mae and Lilly, Mary Anne worked very hard to find the perfect dog for me, tagging every golden retriever rescue and breeder she could find on Facebook. You should ask her about the time Sharky ate a huge piece of raw chicken when she turned her back for three seconds. Or when he stole cake from someone that she was handing it to,” laughs Heather.
How do Finn and Sharky made a difference in the lives of residents/patients/students?
“There were two patients at Methodist Hospital. Patient 1 was a lady that had been unresponsive for several days. We walked in with the dogs and she sat up and starting loving on them. Her daughters were crying; they were so happy we came in because she actually woke up. We were told she was being discharged that day, and the daughters were taking her home to die. This gave them actual time to talk to their mom before she passed away.
Patient 2 was at our last visit last month. I walked into the lobby at Methodist; this girl saw us and came running over. She said, ‘Thank you so much for being here, you have no idea what this means to me. My dad was just taken off a respirator from a heart attack.’ Her whole family then came over to love on the dogs. Both times, it is very rewarding to be able to help someone, but I had to turn away to hide my tears! I was so happy the dogs made a difference in someone’s final days.
My goddaughter is a student that reads to the dogs. On one of the first visits to Sampson Elementary, she turned to me and said, ‘I can’t believe this is the same dog, (Sharky), because he is crazy at home, but so good here!’ “I told her they both know that therapy work is their job; they are great at it, and love to do it.”
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mary Anne and her pups were making more than 20 visits a month to facilities such as Spring Cypress Assisted Living and Memory Care, Sampson Elementary and Spillane Middle Schools and Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. “We also visited the airport during Christmas holiday travel for United Airlines, and Lone Star Cy–Fair and Tomball High Schools for support during finals.” Finn and Sharky have resumed visiting memory care facilities, hospitals, and schools. ”I hope to increase our twice monthly visits to Methodist Willowbrook to every week, at some point.” To date, Finn has made 164 therapy visits, and Sharky, 90 visits.
“Mary Anne Heckman, along with her dogs Finn and Sharky, are part of the founding members of our pet therapy team at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. Their purpose is to provide comfort, a little distraction, and pure joy wherever they go! We recognize that patients often benefit emotionally and even physically when the dogs visit, which can have an impact on their hospital stay. Employees also always look forward to a visit from Finn and Sharky and frequently ask when they’re coming back to the hospital. Mary Anne and her dogs are a blessing to the hospital, our patients and staff. We are incredibly grateful for their partnership,” comments Laura Gomez, Project Manager, Volunteer Services/Guest Relations, Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital.
Faithful Paws was founded in 1997 as a ministry of Bellaire United Methodist Church. The purpose of the organization is to provide a team of organized volunteers, involving the trained animals specifically designed to administer unconditional love and therapy to adults and children in nursing homes or hospitals, and to share the love of our pets with the people they visit. For more information about Faithful Paws, go to www.faithfulpawshouston.org.
Paws for Therapy was founded in 2019 by a group of pet volunteers that are also members of Faithful Paws. Their mission statement is to provide affection, comfort, and love through therapy animals to people in various settings within the Houston metro area. To volunteer with Paws for Therapy, go to: www.pawsfortherapy.org.
