VetPets Services Dog Training

08/03/2025

Puppy Manners Graduates from today.

07/31/2025

Echo had a grand time at South Strabane Fire Department!! Thank you guys!

07/28/2025

07/27/2025

The AKC Canine Good Citizen Prep Course had their final class and testing today. Everyone passed wonderfully, including my own boy Armani 😊
The next CGC Levels start on August 17th @ 4pm for the CGCA/CGCU Combo Course.

07/17/2025

August classes are now planned and posted. Therapy Dog Prep & the AKC Canine Good Citizen Community & Urban Canine courses are on the schedule for August if you are looking for advanced classes. See events page for all the starting courses and enroll there 🐾

07/14/2025

Myya really showed off her focus and settle at Lowe’s today!

07/03/2025

Dill on Duty! We just spent an hour training on the trail around bikes, runners, kids, sprinters, and other dogs.

07/03/2025

The Therapy Prep Course graduated this evening and had their final evaluations at the facility we visit. They all passed AND earned their AKC Canine Good Citizen as well.
Congrats to Team Iaeger & Alyssa Gafric-Rozik , Team Oakley & Handler Larry, Team Ellie & Handler Tina , Team Freddie & Handler Kristina , & Team Miles & Handler Paula .
I will add individual grad pics if I receive them 🎓😊

06/27/2025

Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green, When I am king, dilly, dilly, you shall be queen.

🐾Pupdate on our newest addition🐾
Dillion is a one year old golden retriever, and was granted to us by a service dog trainer in Seattle, WA to be a highly skilled companion for a Veteran or First Responder.
Dilly is fitting in seamlessly, and adores Evie, Myya, and Auggie!
She even helped with flood relief by bringing me a bar of soap last night 🤣

06/27/2025

📍 Location: A hospital in the U.S. or Europe (exact unknown)
🕰️ Era: Post-WWII pediatric care

In this touching photo from 1956, a young girl lies in a hospital bed with a breathing device strapped to her torso. This was likely a form of negative pressure ventilator, commonly used at the time to treat children with polio — a disease that often caused paralysis and respiratory failure.

But what steals the heart in this image isn't just the technology of the era. It’s the trio of fluffy ducklings swimming in a shallow basin placed beside her bed.

Yes — these ducklings were part of her therapy.

In the mid-20th century, hospitals began exploring "animal-assisted therapy" — even before it became a formal field. Ducks, puppies, kittens, and rabbits were sometimes brought in to reduce anxiety, distract from pain, and encourage emotional recovery. The presence of animals was found to calm young patients, especially those undergoing long-term care.

Before antibiotics, modern ventilators, or vaccines, recovery often depended as much on emotional strength as it did on physical treatment. Simple joys — like watching ducklings swim — became part of a child’s healing journey.

This image is more than a sweet moment. It captures the early roots of what we now call “pet therapy,” a practice proven today to lower blood pressure, reduce loneliness, and even improve immunity.

🖤 A reminder: sometimes, healing begins with a smile, a quack, and a little bit of kindness.