HERMITAGE Puppy love: Facility dog gives WTC families an emotional lift
A golden retriever used in bereavement counseling is working his magic with children who lost parents in the World Trade Center attack.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Derek has a way of breaking the ice when he walks into a room.
The 3-year-old golden retriever automatically draws attention with his size and friendly nature and can make friends quickly with even the most shy person.
Derek is just what was needed to get through to some children who lost family members in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, said Dr. Thomas P. DeMaria, administrator of the World Trade Center Child & amp; Family Counseling Center on Long Island, N.Y.
"The kids really bonded with Derek," DeMaria said of a recent three-day visit to the facility, just 30 miles from ground zero.
He was able to break through to the shy, resistant kids, getting them to laugh and focus on him and he has a way of bringing the children together to focus on him, providing a distraction as well as warmth and comfort, DeMaria said.
The center staff also got a chance to be replenished with Derek's visit, he said, adding that even some dog "phobics" said later they want a dog just like him.
Derek makes people want to come back to the center, he added.
Derek will be going back every fourth weekend, said his facilitator and handler, Tom Flynn of Hermitage.
Derek is a graduate of Canine Companions for Independence, a 26-year-old, nationwide nonprofit agency that provides thousands of dogs free to people with a disability or to those who assist the disabled.
'Facility' dog: He's classified by the agency as a "facility" dog that works with caregivers in hospitals, hospices and other settings and was the first CCI dog provided for bereavement work. A couple of others have been assigned to similar tasks since, a CCI spokeswoman said.
Derek was assigned to the John Flynn Funeral Home on East State Street.
Tom Flynn, John's father and owner of Hillcrest Memorial Park, graduated with Derek from a CCI training program in Delaware, Ohio, in November 2000. He and the dog have been a regular fixture at hospitals, nursing homes and schools in the region ever since.
Flynn said he felt Derek could be a help in New York City, particularly with children, but didn't know how to go about arranging a visit with the dog.
How this started: He and Derek were on vacation in San Diego in January and met a woman who got them in contact with Dr. Ken Druck, a California psychologist who goes to New York City once a month to train social workers and doctors in grief therapy.
Druck arranged to meet Flynn and Derek in New York on Feb. 22 and took them to the World Trade Center Child & amp; Family Counseling Center run by South Nassau Communities Hospital.
Derek spent time with the center staff on the first day but got to visit with children during the second two days of the trip and, on the third day, also worked with people who lost siblings in the attack.
"What he really does is he changes the environment. That's his gift," Flynn said. "Whatever you are thinking about walking in that door changes when you meet him."
It's heartbreaking, he said, to watch mothers bring their children into the center because you know they've lost a father or some other loved one.
"Your heart just breaks for them and you want to do what you can to bring some happiness back into their life. The dog can do that, absolutely," he said, noting that one woman staff member said Derek was the best thing to happen to the center.
How it goes: Children flock to him immediately and Derek dotes on the attention, Flynn said. Derek knows about 50 commands and willingly performs them but is also happy just placing his head in someone's lap so the person can caress him.
There were times when a dozen children were reaching for him and there was a line waiting to take turns walking with him around the inside of the building, Flynn said.
"He just goes all day with the kids. That's his people," Flynn said.
He and Derek go back to New York next weekend and Flynn said he is trying to arrange with CCI, which has a dog training center not far from New York City, to have more dogs brought into the center.
Flynn said he and Derek will go back every fourth weekend "for as long as it takes."
Arrangements are also being made for Derek and him to visit ground zero to meet with firefighters, police officers and others working there, he said.