Animal Assisted therapy with Benny BoomeR

Animal Assisted therapy

As defined by Pet Partners, animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are interactions that intentionally incorporate animals for the purpose of improved health and well-being. Research demonstrates that AAI can promote improvement in human physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning.

Meet Benny Boomer

Benny Boomer, an Australian Shepherd, hails from Cortez, Colorado. Raining Ice Kennels’ owner Kim Anderson prides herself on being a Good Dog breeder and she uses Puppy Culture to foster exposure, growth and awareness for her puppies from the start. Benny was fortunate enough to be exposed a variety of settings, people, scents, smells, sights and sounds before he came home to Anchorage, Alaska at the age of 9.5 weeks. Benny comes from a long line of therapy dogs on his mother, Shade’s, side and a long line of agility AKC trick dogs on his father, Ice’s side. We have continued to work with Benny on his exposure to a variety of settings, sights, sounds, people and other animals. He has received training from The Melissa Effect, Melissa Saunders, and Howling Peaks trainers. Benny currently lives at home with two older “siblings,”: Abby, an Australian Shepherd and Jake, a Cocker Spaniel. Benny enjoys chasing a Chuck It Ball, snuggles and cuddles while watching movies, hugs, “Stair ball,” and shredding cardboard with Mom.

Benny at work

Throughout our training, we have done various visits to Maple Springs to visit friends and family. We have also done visits to Cabela’s, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Petsmart, and Petco. Recently, Benny and I completed a class working towards his Canine Good Citizen certification in October of 2022 and he is currently seeing a few clients in the office at Ever After Counseling. As of October 10, 2023, Benny and I are officially certified as a working therapy team through AK Dog Works.