T. J. ROYAL
Already a visitor to Heritage Hospital in Tarboro three times, Gabby the Border collie has so far earned praise from the staff.
Linda Williams-Brown, Heritage’s therapy services manager, says that the three-year-old dog “has been well-trained by her owner … (and) she will surely put a smile on your face with her kind and gentle demeanor.”
That kind of positive attention for the different therapy patients at Heritage, Williams-Brown added, comes from the dog’s ability to “show love back to the patients unconditionally.”
Gabby’s owner, Sybil Howard of Scotland Neck, said that from what she has seen with her dog’s work and others, “animals tend to have more empathy (with patients), and help bring people out of their shell” that can develop when a traumatic injury occurs.
Howard, 47, has had Gabby since 2006, and started her visits to Heritage Hospital with her pooch back in December. She entered her dog into a two-year program with the Delta Society, a non-profit organization that promotes animal and human interaction for health-related causes, and has been visiting the hospital since its completion.
Howard also is a five-year PetSmart employee at the Rocky Mount store, and along with Gabby, is a trainer at the store.
She adopted her pet from the Edgecombe-Nash Humane Society, after Gabby was found as an eight-week-old puppy along the side of U.S. 64 between Rocky Mount and Nashville.
“She’s gone from rags to riches” as far as her living conditions are concerned, Howard added about her border collie.
Since the dog has gained more experience as a therapy dog, Howard said that she now “let’s her do her own thing. It’s like I’m getting in the way if I try to lead her.”
Howard added that, despite the fact she’s kept Gabby for more than three years now, she had to train the border collie to get her to the point where she would consistently obey commands and to earn her standing as a therapy dog.
She also noted that, even with a mild-mannered dog like hers, if people are going to adopt a pet from a human society, animal shelter or a pound, it’s best to pay for some training for the animal, so there’s less of a chance the owners would want to return the animal due to misbehavior.
In her work and her personal life, Howard said that Gabby “brings me out in the community” and has added to her professional and social life. “I needed to share her with other people, she’s just so wonderful.”
And so far, the people at the Tarboro hospital seem to think so as well.
Howard added that, as far as motivation goes, “when someone in the rehab unit, or a stroke victim, says ‘You’ve made my day’ (by seeing Gabby), that’s all I need to keep doing it.”
Gabby will be at Heritage Hospital again and will be shown at the Tarboro Rotary Club on Feb. 11.
