Stray Children
When they arrived I told them that we needed sensible and special people to help us with our dogs. Each person would have to choose a dog and wash it, brush it and tied it up. At the end we would decide which one was the best. The results of that day were really rewarding: all our dogs were beautiful, but the most important thing was that kids were happy and proud of their work.
They began like that, with what they thought was only a special job or hobby. But they didn’t know that the goal was something else: make them feel as special as everyone else. And they truly are.
Now, when they arrive to Canine Miracles, all our dogs run to welcome them and happy to see them, they move their tails. Kids hug them and both let themselves be loved.
Its a very rewarding experience because kids, those kids that one day arrived full of fear, maybe with penal backgrounds, maybe with a horrifying past, are received here as they deserve it, with all the joy and love that is available for them.
Here, among everyone, dogs, kids and workers of Canine Miracles, we share at least some fried potatoes and sodas, but there is something that they are not aware of sharing with us: their childhood innocence. Street kids, but kids at last.
I know that in Mexico we have still a lot to do for those kids, but if each one of us could just help a little bit, the problem would be smaller. Street kids, just as stray dogs, are constantly mistreated.
Who has given the right to those persons to mistreat others if we are all the same? And for those who don’t think like that, what a shame.
Therapy for disabled persons
All our dogs are special (without legs, with cancer, burned, tortured, etc.), that’s why I thought that there was no one better to take care of them and play with them than special persons.
We have kids with Down’s Syndrome or with cerebral palsy that give caress and play therapies to dogs. By sharing time with them, throwing them a ball, brushing them, cleaning them, feeding them, or simply stroking them, make this a reciprocal therapy.
At this point I ask myself “Who is giving the therapy?” Dogs’ improvement is huge, but our special person’s improvement is really significant.
Rosita, for example, with cerebral palsy, can already speak some words and identifies her favorite dog among all. She loves to stroke Matatena and she can spend hours doing it. Matatena loves also to be stroked. She is a 3-leg dog that was tortured, and now she receives and gives a lot of love. The fact that Rosita identifies Matatena among all dogs, it’s a huge improvement. Also, the fact that Matatena looks for Rosita for her therapy its awesome.
The persons with Down’s syndrome are so special that can give many things that most of the people don’t understand. The bond between them and dogs is real.
Yoshi is our games’ manager, and when dogs see him, they know a play time is about to come. Besides, they stay easily to let themselves be washed, brushed and dressed. Can it be that dogs know what a special person means? Or can it be that Yoshi, with his Down Syndrome, knows a different way of giving all his love to dogs?
Also old age persons work with us. Working with us make them feel useful before society, besides receiving a lot of loving kisses from our dogs.
Anyway and anyhow, having special persons and special dogs, make me feel that Canine Miracles is indeed Special.
Old Age Persons
In Canine Miracles, some dogs are therapists. After having suffered the unimaginable, they are so grateful that they are useful to give therapy to old age persons.
One of the biggest issues about old age persons is solitude. Through therapy with our Canine Miracles’s dogs we have set as a goal to give them company and love and in that way, decrease their feelings of solitude and sadness. The company of a dog for a person that feels lonely means a lot.
In the olds people home that we visit, there are many persons that wait anxiously for the day of our visit. Some remember their own pets, others simply remember the way they used to be loved and visited.
When you stroke a dog, your hand and arm muscles move. The heat that dogs transmit, make them feel relaxed and their presence, makes them, little by little, more sociable, active and receptive. Our visits offer them entertainment, a subject to talk about, and in some cases seems like they are back from the death.
The therapy is about company, stroking, talking with them about their pets, their memories, identifying long-hair or short-hair dogs and a very important remedy: smiling.
Those old aged persons gave so much in their lives and for reason ended up in a shelter, but they are still giving a lot of love and all dogs receive that with happiness.
Me, as founder of Canine Miracles, I am very proud to know that, although they were mistreated dogs, are capable of releasing feelings of hate towards human beings, moreover, they offer all good things that they are able to give. I cannot be more grateful with all of them. What they teach us every day, it’s a lot. They are simply my honorable deans.
Patricia Ruiz.