Meet the candidates aspiring to become Yellowknife’s therapy dogs

St John Ambulance spent this week evaluating dogs – and their owners – who want to join its therapy dog program in Yellowknife.

The charity received close to 40 applications this year and managed to evaluate 14 dogs over two days.

Nine of those dogs cleared an hour-long assessment.

Coordinator Lisa Urbanski says tests will continue in the following weeks.

Last month, Urbanski said the program’s goal was to recruit “as many dogs as possible” after Covid-19 left the city with only two active therapy dogs.

One of those two dogs is Jo-Anne Cecchetto’s dog Pepe, who volunteered for roughly five years before retiring in 2023.

Cecchetto’s other dog, seven-year-old Kitt, failed an evaluation last year but returned on Tuesday to give the program – and her patience – another try.

“She was just a little bit overexcited by the other dogs, so they asked us to bring her back again this time to see if she would do any better,” Cecchetto said of Kitt’s previous attempt.

Cecchetto feels children and adults who spend time with Kitt would benefit from her “very gentle and sweet” personality.

“It’s definitely rewarding seeing how the families loved Pepe. It was a win-win for both of us and for the families, too,” she added.

Laura Malone applied after witnessing her dog Sadie’s success at the Girl Guides of Canada’s Embers program, where seven and eight-year-olds take part in leadership activities.

“She loves kids, and she loves getting belly rubs from kids. She’s been around some kids with neurodiversities and is able to sort-of be chill around them and bring them some comfort,” said Malone.

“I think she’d do really well. She loves being around people – the more attention she gets, the better.”

The evaluation examines dogs through activities that involve interactions with different kinds of people and social scenarios.

The first is simply walking along an L-shaped path and pausing at their handler’s command. Another tests dogs’ ability to stay patient as a person holding crutches and one in a lion costume cross their path.

Kristie Leach met her dog Cora at the NWT SPCA three years ago, after she was flown in from Nunavut’s Taloyoak.

Leach said she was away when the call-out for the program’s applications came out and a friend thought Cora would be a good fit.

“All my friends and acquaintances get to benefit from Cora’s affection, and they borrow her sometimes,” she said.

“This is a really good way to give back to the community, and I get to do it with my best furry friend.”

Wendy Tulk said she had no idea such a program existed in Yellowknife.

Tulk’s first experience with a therapy dog was a few years ago, when her father was in palliative care in British Columbia. That encouraged her to send in an application for five-year-old golden retriever Sadie.

“A therapy dog came while I was visiting with him and it made such a difference for him. It just was the absolute best part of his month, even,” she said of her father’s experience.

“I’ve always thought about it since then. I think it can be a really, really lovely thing for people who are in hospitals or in seniors’ homes.”