When we got to Bishop Gibbons, we were surprised to find a mob waiting in Sue’s classroom. They weren’t her students, and we didn’t know them. She didn’t know a lot of them either. “They came to see Zinnia,” she said.

The word had gone around the school that Zinnia was coming, and scores of students asked if their teachers could bring them down to meet her. The teachers said yes. Zinnia’s tail never stopped wagging,  but she got worn out quickly, lay down, and was sent to sleep behind the chair I was sitting on.

It is always unique and wonderful to see a dog’s impact on a school, assisted care facility, hospice, or hospital. To handle the crowds, I asked the kids to form a circle and sit down so Zinnia could approach them individually to say hello, which she did. We did this three or four times, and Zinnia roamed the crowded room from student to student.

Sue said only a few students in the room were hers; they all brought their teachers. Having therapy dogs has been a gift to me; it brings me joy and happiness, and a sense of purpose. She makes no noise in the car on the way there or back and is exhausted when she gets home.

Dog therapy work looks easy on dogs, but it isn’t. After 30 to 45 minutes, the dogs wear out and have to rest or take a break. Zinnia is a fantastic therapy dog; she has a beautiful instinct for who needs her and who doesn’t. Sue Silverstein is her dog Godmother, and Zinnia wriggles in joy when she sees her.

Many of the students at Bishop Gibbons came from Bishop Maginn, and they helped me train Zinnia when she was a puppy. She remembers all of them and showers them with licks. She has the same impact on the Mansion residents. Having trained and certified therapy dogs was one of my best ideas; it had helped me as much as anyone else.