b'Not all dogs can be therapy dogs, Mrs. Harant-schuk said. The dogs need to have the right temperament and must be able to respond readily to specific commands such as sit and leave it. They must also pay attention to the dog handler and ignore everything else, even when something as tempting as food is nearby on the ground. Mrs. Harantschuk said being a dog trainer has allowed her to meet new people and to have ILLUSTRATION BY the pleasure of helping them as they recover Karen Gonzalez, seventh gradefrom an illness or deal with an emotional prob-Catholic Partnership Schools Healthy Courier lem.Anybody can benefit from pet therapy as longAs for challenges she faces, Mrs. Harantschuk as [the animal] is something they enjoy, shementioned only one: She wishes she could said.spend even more time doing her job.She recalled how one of her dogs brought joy to a patient who was hospitalized. The dog sat onBy Healthy Comet staff Cole Manor Elementary Schoolthe patients bed while it was wheeled around the hospital. The staff took pictures of them. ItTami D. Benton, M.D., is psychiatrist-in-chief, made her so happy she forgot about everythingexecutive director and chair of the department of else, Mrs. Harantschuk said. child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral Mrs. Harantschuk has been training dogs sincesciences, and clinical director of child and 2014. She now works for Philly Unleashed,adolescent psychiatry at Childrens Hospital of where she specializes in training therapy dogs.Philadelphia.She has made more than 1,000 therapy visitsMichael Galarraga, L.P.C., is a bilingual Spanish-with her own dogs. English speaker, licensed professional counselor,She said she became a certified professionaland board-certified registered art therapist in dog trainer because she wanted to honor herPhiladelphia.father after his death. They both loved dogs. SheAlicia Harantschuk is a certified professional soon realized that through pet therapy, I coulddog trainer with Philly Unleashed and Dog Gone help people feel betterand I could make a big- Good Dog and is a former president of Comfort ger impact in my community. Caring Canines in Philadelphia, which serves 34 Southeastern Pennsylvania.'