Dr David Crenshaw of the Children’s Home Of Poughkeepsie joins Colleen & Dr Jim for a lively discussion about the various ways his organization uses facility dogs. He shares how their facility dogs have used their problem solving skills to support, comfort, and a good laugh. Also, Jim provides a lot of insight into why problem solving is so important for the dogs chosen to serve.

Episode Highlights

1:37 - David shares how Dr Jim’s work has impacted his efforts

2:15 - Meet Dr David Crenshaw of the Children's Home Of Poughkeepsie

4:40 - The specialized programs they offer

5:30 - Nuevas Alas serving immigrant children

6:45 - Safe Harbour program for youth sex trafficking victims

7:45 - Group Emergency Foster Care for siblings

9:00 - Navigating the campus of services

10:00 - David finds Courthouse Dogs Foundation

14:00 - Rosie from ECAD works with 2 children

17:00 - David’s observations of Rosie’s impact

20:15 - Jim reflects on the past 10 years of adoption of facility dog programs

24:20 - The importance of problem solving skills in these dogs

28:10 - The current projects Jim is working on the science of play

30:00 - Rosie is reunited with Dale but continues to show up

31:00 - An example of the work Rosie did in court

34:15 - The transition of facility dogs

37:30 - Gentle soft touch to the dogs provides healing to the children

38:45 - Benefiting from establishing boundaries

41:00 - Teens working with Ace the labrador

44:30 - Our connection to the animals

45:30 - Calming comfort through all areas of life

48:00 - Letter exchange with Ace

50:50 - Elvis the approachable one

51:45 - Marshall working with the Safe Harbour program

53:15 - Facility dogs supporting all of those in this process

54:30 - Intuitive problem solving the dogs inherently have

55:00 - Hilarious problem solving example

58:00 - Knowing where the facility dogs will serve best

1:01:30 - What a bark or howl is telling a handler

1:02:30 - Colleen shares how Russel was impacted by pain of a person

1:04:45 - Rosie goes to college & Jim tells us how dogs sense their stress

Links To References

Children’s Home Of Poughkeepsie

ECAD - Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities

This episode is marked explicit due to the nature of some of the topics discussed.