The Nathaniel Witherell's Pooches on Parade a Howling Good Time

Photo caption: Greenwich resident Lisa Wysocki’s Papillon Jean Pierre.

The Nathaniel Witherell recently hosted the first of its quarterly “Pooches on Parade” programs for 2015. The highly anticipated event attracted 14 four-legged friends that mingled with dozens of Witherell residents in the facility’s spacious auditorium. The dogs were joined by their human companions, including staff, family members, volunteers, and members of the community who had seen the notice for the event placed in local newspapers.

During the program, each owner came up to the microphone, and told the crowd on hand a little about their dogs. For the remainder of the hour, the dogs and their owners “worked the room” and socialized with Witherell residents.

Sally Van Leeuwen, Witherell’s volunteer coordinator, refers to Pooches on Parade as the “formal part of pet therapy.” She says, “The informal part is the individual dog and owner teams who come in and go around the building on their own, coming when it is convenient for them and working it into their own schedules.” She adds, “We have regular weekday as well as weekend pet therapy volunteers. They usually spend 30 to 60 minutes going around the building and interacting with any dog lovers they come across.”