Rescue Dogs and Occupational Therapists
http://www.thelandmark.com/articles/rescue-dog-helps-others/ When I stumbled across this article about an occupational therapist who adopted Trot, a homeless dog, I was immediately drawn in. Jessica O'Connor is an OT who works with at-risk children and the owner of Trot who had him registered as an emotional support dog at 2 years old. O'Connor talks about her experience having a group of adolescent girls and how Trot motivates them to talk more in their therapy setting. The article goes on to talk about how Trot developed cancer in his jaw and now his tongue permanently hangs out of his mouth. O'Connor explains that Trot's unusual traits make clients very empathetic towards him and are inspired by how he rose out of being homeless and having cancer to being the service dog that he is today. I am inspired by this depiction of OT in the media because it shows how important service animals can be and the kinds of services that occupational therapists can offer (group th...