Dogini's Way:
The Secrets of a Dog Therapist

 What Works in Psychotherapy,
When it Does Work?

My kind of dog therapy has a lot in common with the service humans offer for a fee. Not that I'm not compensated; my humans, Robertina & Haroldi, feed me (treats and all the trimmings), take charge of my medical expenses, walk me and even pick up and wrap my poop. They do that even though they have a sniff deficiency and can't properly appreciate the delicate aroma, as I do. Do you think that they would do all of that if they weren't happy grateful for what I give them?

And just what might that be?

They feel loved by me. We have a therapeutic alliance. That means we take care of each other. And that can be a real life saver!

In the picture to the right I'm looking into the eyes of Chauncy, my second mate (not the sea sea-going kind) and the father of my litter of 9 pups. You can see four of them below enjoying their breakfast.

That alliance came naturally. Chauncy and I had an exciting romance and all nine pups found good homes. They don't keep in touch and I don't know much about what happened to them after 

they finally left home. Humans like to keep in touch forever, but to me there's always a new relationship around the next tree. Actually, I have a pretty active

Robertina and Haroldi (in the picture above) are allied to each other. They find other alliances more challenging. Not me, I have friends all over the place.

My best friends in New York City are Alex and Hiromi. They live downstairs in our building and Hiromi always saves her delicious soup bones for me. Alex is blind now although he used to play the most wonderful music on his Steinway piano and I would lie down and listen. He was a famous musician. Today, April 20th 1999, Alex just died. He was 97 years old. Hiromi and Robertina are making a memorial web site for him.

When Robertina told someone that Alex was a pianist, he said "No, Dogini is a 'peeanist,' but I'm a pianist'(pronounced a little like anise). He was a joker. When he ate he dropped a lot of food under the table becuase he could't see any more. That made for some good treats for me. If you want to hear all about him click on Alexander Alexay.

In my early days, when my lone wandering took me all over Lake Placid,I met Jennifer, who worked as a chef in Whiteface Inn. We fell in love. At first everyone thought that I was going there just for the food that she obviously had to offer, but we put it to the test. You see, I loved her for her gentle spirit and her heart full of love. If you want to see what I mean, read the letter that she wrote about us, years later. Here it is:

Jennifer Cornell & Dogini in Love

My Favorite Memories of My Friend Dogini

                                    I remember the first day I met Dogini, like it was yesterday.  It was the summer of 1991, I was working in the kitchen at the Whiteface Inn.  I looked out the door, and there she was sitting.  I immediately stopped what I was doing and went out to greet her, her collar read ‘Dogini’.  She was the most beautiful  dog I had ever seen, and she was so nice.  I of course gave her a little treat from the kitchen.  She came back often to the same spot, so I thought she really liked me.  Everyone in the kitchen said she was only interested in the food.  I had stopped giving her snacks and just gave her plenty of love.  Dogini followed me home sometimes from work and even spent a few nights at my home.  That was how I met Roberta and Harold, Dogini had their phone number on her collar also. 

            Dogini would sometimes not show up for a few days and I would really miss her.  I  knew Dogini really liked me and not just the snacks one day when she hadn’t shown up at the kitchen door.  Much to my surprise, she was waiting for me at my home on my porch.  I was so happy to see her there, and I knew right then and there that I would have a Samoyed of my own someday.

            Dogini visited me a lot that summer.  She would come down to the dock by the boathouse with me and she would bark and bark if I went out  on a boat without her.  She always waited for me  to get back either at the dock or she would go back to my house and wait on my pork.  I was lying on the dock one day and she was with me.  She stood over me and put one of her paws on my hair so I couldn’t turn my head.  She was waiting for me to look at her.  As soon as I did, she licked my face. 

            Another time I remember that makes me laugh is when I opened my car door to get something out and Dogini hopped right in without hesitation.  I couldn’t get her out no matter what I did.  Finally, I had to get in and take her for a quick ride up the road and back.  When we got back and I opened the door, she jumped right out.

            At the end of the summer I moved back to the Albany area.  I didn’t get to see Dogini  very much, although I did have the great pleasure of watching her for a week.  She was so loyal and so protective of me.  She wouldn’t let my parents Collie into my bedroom while I was asleep.  She would growl at him if he tried to.  He usually slept with me.  When my father would get up in the morning to let the dogs out, she would growl at him because she thought he was going to come in my room while I was asleep.

            The next summer, we brought Dogini on a weekend canoe and camping trip.  She was so good and I felt very safe with her protecting us.  On our way back, we had to give her a bath though because she had rolled in some animal remnants.

            August of 1992, I moved to Colorado and spent the next 5 years there.  As soon as we decided where we were going to live and work, I got the Denver paper and looked for a Samoyed.  I found one and called right away and asked them to reserve the one female they had left.  I went to Denver the next day to pick  up ‘Powder’. 

            I didn’t see Dogini again until the Spring of 1998.  Roberta, Dave & I had to search for her, she was out enjoying the day with some kids at the near by condos.  When she saw me, I got a royal greeting from her.  She was jumping in circles and singing.  She was as happy to see me as I was to see her.  She had remembered me after 6 years!

            I only saw Dogini every now and then once we moved back to the area, one time being at my wedding.  The last time I saw Dogini, Nicole was able to meet her.  She liked her a lot and kept saying, “I love your friend Dogini, Mommy”.  I replied, “I love my friend Dogini too”.   We will miss her greatly, she was one of a kind!  A truly amazing dog!  I am sorry for your loss.

                                                                        Jennifer

People just gravitate to me. Matt Reynolds is another old friend of mine. We go back to my pup days and even have a picture of us in Robertina's book:

and go on to my next page...