Different breeds bring their own unique challenges but Cheyanne is up for the task with her Therapy Beagle, Tiana.
In this 28th episode of Therapy Dog Talk, I sat down with Cheyanne to hear about her experiences voluntering with her Therapy Beagle, Tiana, as well as the hound-specific challenges she’s found along the way with Tiana, Sophie, and Mardi.
While Cheyanne and Tiana aren’t the first hound handlers we’ve had on the show, I originally met them through a conversation about how to help Beagles, and their other sniffy cousins, disengage from food smells when volunteering at the airport. We definitely dove into this topic as part of our interview so be sure to check it out if you’d like to learn more about what Cheyanne has learned in owning three Beagles and how that has impacted her therapy dog training.
If you live near Phoenix, Arizona, Cheyanne has shared her experiences volunteering with her therapy animals in several local organizations as well as therapy dog training opportunities from Alliance of Therapy Dogs Test Observers in the area and even a local assisted living facility that permits Therapy Dogs in Training to begin practicing with their residents.
Cheyanne is a wealth of information, passionate about volunteering, and full of joy and generosity, so if you’re ready to learn about Therapy Dogs in Phoenix, let’s dive in:
In this episode, we discuss …
- How a veteran encounter at a dog park encouraged Cheyanne to pursue volunteering with her first Beagle, Sophie.
- Why Cheyanne decided to carry forward Sophie’s Therapy Beagle legacy with her new hound, Tiana.
- What Cheyanne and Sophie enjoy about therapy animal opportunities available in Phoenix.
Key moments you won’t want to miss:
- [01:48] How Cheyanne discovered the role of Therapy Dogs with her first dog, Sophie, while attending an event.
- [04:18] What Cheyanne did to prepare Tiana to follow in Sophie’s pawsteps as a Therapy Beagle.
- [06:00] Cheyanne’s other Beagle, Mardi, and why she doesn’t think she would enjoy volunteering at this time.
- [05:00] The difference between researching Cavaliers and experiencing daily life with energetic Indie.
- [07:23] How Cheyanne was surprised to find out how many volunteer pet therapy opportunities she would join.
- [07:57] Cheyanne shares about their experience volunteering at Pheonix Sky Harbor International Airport as part of the Navigator Buddies team.
- [08:47] Cheyanne shares about their experience volunteering with at risk youth through Gabriel’s Angels.
- [09:28] Cheyanne and Tiana’s most recent volunteer location — Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
- [09:57] What it’s like to volunteer at her alma matter, ASU, with Tiana through Sun Devil PAWS Therapy.
- [10:58] Tiana’s love of being around kids at the school and the Children’s hospital and how Cheyanne has seen their work impact their ability grow through their weekly sessions.
- [12:22] Cheyanne shares about the unique challenges she’s encountered while volunteering with hounds.
- [14:04] Cheyanne and I lament about how we’ve never encountered therapy dogs in our own travel.
- [14:59] Cheyanne’s advice for those who are interested in training their own therapy dog as well as a reminder that some times your dog may have a rough day and you’ll need to recognize when to cut a visit short.
- [16:16] A reminder that it’s important to take breaks from volunteering and to add enrichment into your routine.
- [16:31] Cheyanne shares that some test observers offer therapy dog training.
- [17:25] Why Tiana the Therapy Beagle was named after the character Tiana in Disney’s Princess and the Frog.
- [18:12] Cheyanne’s encouragement to pursue therapy animal opportunities if you think your dog may be a good fit.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I do. Give it a watch or a listen and then let me know in the community which part you found the most helpful!
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Therapy Dog Talk is a podcast where I interview a different team each week via Instagram Live. If you enjoyed this episode please find us over at Apple, Google, or Spotify and give us a follow after you leave a review.
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