Talula Mae

Therapy Dog & Chief Bark Officer

Talula is our therapy dog in training. She is playful, fun-loving, and intuitive. She also loves giving kisses and cuddles to every one she meets. Talula has been socialized with children, adults, and other animals since she was born. She knows basic commands and is scheduled to complete her Canine Good Citizenship Certification this summer. Thankfully, her Cavapoo coat makes her less allergenic. While she would love to come to every therapy session with everyone, she usually only “works” two or three days a week right now. If you have any questions about Talula, please do not hesitate to ask.

Contact

Let's work together

Charlena and Talula work together to provide therapy to clients when it is appropriate for the client and helps to meet the client’s counseling goals. Working with a therapy dog may not be appropriate for every client or at every session. Using the therapy dog in sessions will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Some benefits that have been found in utilizing a therapy animal include:

Animals help improve motivation and engagement in therapy.
Animals provide a sense of security and emotional support.
Dogs offer unconditional acceptance and positive regard.
Animals can promote relaxation. Research has demonstrated that petting an animal can help lower blood pressure, heart rate, and increase oxytocin (a feel-good chemical in the brain).
Animals can help clients learn frustration tolerance and other anger management techniques.
Animals can help in the areas of focus and attention.
Animals can be instruments of learning, which can increase self-confidence and self-esteem.
Animals offer humor and fun due to their playful nature.
Animals in therapy ask for clients to develop empathy, nurturance, and responsibility, and model other skills like forgiveness and patience.

Talula Mae