Amanda Graham attaches a leash to Shadow’s collar, and takes him to meet her newest client.  The rest of the staff at the Center for Mental Health, where Amanda is the Executive Director and a licensed professional counselor, smiles at the pair.  At the beginning of the workday, staff members and the friendly, sociable Aussie mix had gone through their usual greeting ritual.  Now, on the leash, Shadow knows he is on the job.

Shadow came to GVAWL in 2008, and was close to being “unadoptable” because of some behavior problems.  However, when he first saw Amanda on Valentine’s Day 2009 in the lobby of Critter Sitters, he leaped into her lap and wiggled all over.  Amanda had found the dog she’d been looking for since losing her beloved basset mix, Lucy, several months earlier.

Amanda had looked for a dog that she could train to assist in psychotherapy, but she was not going to force any dog into that mold.  Her goal was to bring forth Shadow’s true self.  Shadow was not exactly fearful, but was extremely cautious, and flinched at sudden movements.  He retreated from most people, yet was alert and curious.  Amanda worked with him in 15-minute stretches, day in and day out, as they went through the A.K.C. Canine Good Citizen program.  Then, working with a dog behaviorist in Grand Junction, and with the cooperation of her co-workers and clients, she did more intense work socializing Shadow.  In this year and a half, Shadow learned to overcome his fears and build trust with people other than Amanda, and his self-confidence grew.

The human-animal bond is in itself therapeutic.  Shadow and Amanda have taken that bond to the professional level.  Shadow is a “therapy dog,” registered with Therapy Dog International.  To become registered, an animal must pass ten “tests,” such as interacting with people in wheelchairs, on crutches, or experiencing seizures.  Shadow calmly passed his tests.

According to Amanda, Shadow’s learning process is precisely what makes him so effective in helping her clients learn how to overcome fears and to build trust.  Shadow is friendly and bonds with everyone; his unique effect lies in his calm, purposeful approach to establishing relationships.  He truly does understand that building relationships is about building trust.

Amanda’s perceptive abilities and learning experiences have also shaped this duo’s manner of therapy.  The bond humans and animals can share is essential to Amanda.  She spent six years as Associate Director of the Orange County (North Carolina) Animal Protective Society, where part of her job was as animal-cruelty investigator.  (She prosecuted the state’s first case of felony dog fighting.)  Her encounters there with troubled people led her to pursue graduate work in counseling, which led to her current career.

Psychotherapy and animals are the perfect fusion for Amanda.  Through the Center for Mental Health, she and Wendy Buckhanan facilitate Horses for Change, an equine-assisted psychotherapy program in Gunnison.  Amanda is certified by EAGALA, the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association.  Amanda and Wendy work with clients who typically see results in five to seven sessions – a “brief therapy.”  Part of the reason for this success is because of the particular nature of horses: as a prey species, they are especially perceptive of humans’ thoughts and emotions, and are honest in their responses to those perceptions.

With all animal-assisted therapy, success comes about because of the immediate, tangible nature of working with live beings, and through the power of the human-animal bond.  As Amanda and Shadow go to meet a client, they are immediate, tangible proof of that bond.  With all their being, they use the bond to make many, many lives better.