Big Red Dog News
Updated 2/10/2022
Thank you for your interest in Big Red Dog Animal Assisted Therapy. We are currently not conducting visits as we do not have an active therapy dog at this time. We have enjoyed all of our visits and the new friends we have made and hope to be able to offer AAT services again in the future.
Pardon My Fines Visit Round 2
Had another fun visit at the Burlington Public Library for the Pardon My Fines event. Sadly it was our last visit due to low attendance, but we have a feeling we will be around the library for other events soon! Either way, Sadie had a blast seeing everyone and hanging out.
Read With Sadie Update
Our first visit to the Burlington Public Library for the "Pardon My Fines" event went very well! Sadie enjoyed making new friends and seeing all of the community members at the library. We look forward to visiting again and hearing lots of good stories - our favorites were "Clifford the Big Red Dog" books (since they fit with out name!) We also enjoyed getting to see a very special reading partner - our nephew Joseph - who stopped by to see Sadie in action. Check out our gallery of photos below!
Read With Sadie
Sadie is excited to visit the Burlington Public Library tomorrow to read with kids as part of the "Pardon My Fines" program! We will be there from 1 PM - 3 PM for anyone who would like to come and read with Sadie! Pictures to follow : )
A Tribute to Our Princess Peach
We are saddened to announce the passing of another member of our therapy team.
Today we lost our Pomeranian, Peach, to congestive heart failure. Peach passed peacefully at home doing one of her favorite activities, napping.
Peach was only with our team for a short time, but was a member of the family for 10 years. She was well known for her smiley and happy personality, always wagging her tail. She was also known for her many outfits, as she liked to dress up for visits. Peach was a favorite among ladies at facilities that we visited, especially those whose mobility was restricted, as she was able to sit on their lap. Her special touch will be missed at visits. We are thankful for our time with this wonderful dog and know that she will be irreplaceable. But we know that she is with our beloved Red now.
We would like to pay tribute to Peach with some of our favorite pictures of her throughout the years.
Today we lost our Pomeranian, Peach, to congestive heart failure. Peach passed peacefully at home doing one of her favorite activities, napping.
Peach was only with our team for a short time, but was a member of the family for 10 years. She was well known for her smiley and happy personality, always wagging her tail. She was also known for her many outfits, as she liked to dress up for visits. Peach was a favorite among ladies at facilities that we visited, especially those whose mobility was restricted, as she was able to sit on their lap. Her special touch will be missed at visits. We are thankful for our time with this wonderful dog and know that she will be irreplaceable. But we know that she is with our beloved Red now.
We would like to pay tribute to Peach with some of our favorite pictures of her throughout the years.
Dog Moms Deserve to Celebrate Too!
Happy (Dog) Mom's Day to all of those people out there whose babies have four paws and a tail! : )
We plan to celebrate with all of our fur-babies and their adopted siblings!
We plan to celebrate with all of our fur-babies and their adopted siblings!
We Have Moved!
That's right - we are officially re-located! Big Red Dog Animal Assisted Therapy Group will now be serving those in need of a little puppy-love from Burlington, Iowa. We are excited about our move - and we are glad to announce that we are finally all settled in and ready for visits! In the meantime, we are enjoying walks to the park while the weather is still nice, practicing our obedience skills and making new friends!
New Year, New Crew
2017 is well on it's way, with January almost over, and we here at Big Red Dog AAT have been busy! We acquired some awesome new swag - through a Christmas gift from "Red" - of red polo shirts with our logo, organization name and "trained handler" printed on them. Red was also generous enough to have polos made up for our two favorite volunteers.
In addition, we have officially found Miss Gabi a home! She didn't move far, though, just to mom and dad's in Canton to live with Peach. She is loving her new home and her fancy new bed. Gabi will continue her therapy training and behavioral rehabilitation at her new home. We are hopeful that she will be ready to begin visits by this summer. Gabi will be the first dog that BRD has taken in and re-homed successfully - of course, we are thrilled that it means she can stay in the family and eventually join the therapy team : )
We are also excited to announce that we will be moving soon. That's right - the team is packing up to move to Burlington, IA. We are hopeful that this will open up lots of new visiting opportunities for us and allow us to become more established as an organization while expanding our volunteer reach within our new community. We will also be closer to some phenomenal animal shelters that will allow us to foster dogs and share the benefits of adopting shelter pets.
As always, we continue to look for new facilities and groups to visit and welcome suggestions or referrals. Here's to another great year of animal assisted therapy!
In addition, we have officially found Miss Gabi a home! She didn't move far, though, just to mom and dad's in Canton to live with Peach. She is loving her new home and her fancy new bed. Gabi will continue her therapy training and behavioral rehabilitation at her new home. We are hopeful that she will be ready to begin visits by this summer. Gabi will be the first dog that BRD has taken in and re-homed successfully - of course, we are thrilled that it means she can stay in the family and eventually join the therapy team : )
We are also excited to announce that we will be moving soon. That's right - the team is packing up to move to Burlington, IA. We are hopeful that this will open up lots of new visiting opportunities for us and allow us to become more established as an organization while expanding our volunteer reach within our new community. We will also be closer to some phenomenal animal shelters that will allow us to foster dogs and share the benefits of adopting shelter pets.
As always, we continue to look for new facilities and groups to visit and welcome suggestions or referrals. Here's to another great year of animal assisted therapy!
Updates
Hi all,
Sorry it has been a while since we have posted - our team has been taking a little break from services for the holiday season. Unfortunately, the girls' Halloween costumes didn't fit like we thought they would (they were supposed to be Batman and Robin) so we had to scrap that idea for our October visit. In November, we did not visit because our usual week fell on Thanksgiving Day. The pups enjoyed a family-filled day of Thanksgiving festivities at the Canton house where they snacked on turkey and ham scraps and played with the little cousins. It was a mighty crowded car ride with Gabi, Sadie, Dooley (all large breeds), Duke (Chihuahua) and myself all riding along!
So far in December we haven't scheduled an official visit in anticipation of Christmas/New Years festivities, but who knows, maybe we will squeeze one in among all of the holiday bustle.
In the meantime, you can enjoy this year's holiday portraits of Gabi and Sadie by the tree. This is a tradition I started when Sadie was only a year old. Every year, we take her picture by the tree in various poses and mail out Christmas cards to our family, friends, supporters and visiting locations. Gabi will get the honor of joining the tradition this year - the only obstacle is, she doesn't enjoy having her picture taken as much as Sadie so she doesn't sit very still : ) 30 minutes later- I managed to get one good picture of her before letting her scurry back to her house to hide from my camera. But I'm sure we will get her used to pictures!
Sorry it has been a while since we have posted - our team has been taking a little break from services for the holiday season. Unfortunately, the girls' Halloween costumes didn't fit like we thought they would (they were supposed to be Batman and Robin) so we had to scrap that idea for our October visit. In November, we did not visit because our usual week fell on Thanksgiving Day. The pups enjoyed a family-filled day of Thanksgiving festivities at the Canton house where they snacked on turkey and ham scraps and played with the little cousins. It was a mighty crowded car ride with Gabi, Sadie, Dooley (all large breeds), Duke (Chihuahua) and myself all riding along!
So far in December we haven't scheduled an official visit in anticipation of Christmas/New Years festivities, but who knows, maybe we will squeeze one in among all of the holiday bustle.
In the meantime, you can enjoy this year's holiday portraits of Gabi and Sadie by the tree. This is a tradition I started when Sadie was only a year old. Every year, we take her picture by the tree in various poses and mail out Christmas cards to our family, friends, supporters and visiting locations. Gabi will get the honor of joining the tradition this year - the only obstacle is, she doesn't enjoy having her picture taken as much as Sadie so she doesn't sit very still : ) 30 minutes later- I managed to get one good picture of her before letting her scurry back to her house to hide from my camera. But I'm sure we will get her used to pictures!
A Tribute To A Great Dog
We are sad to announce the passing of our namesake and lead therapy dog, Red. Red T. Bone Vass passed away on Monday September 5, 2016 at his favorite place- the family farm. He had a great last day taking a gator ride and laying in the shade of the elm tree with his humans and dog family. Red was 11 years old when he passed. He was diagnosed with lymphoma just 3 short weeks before. While it was far too soon, in our opinion, to lose such a great soul we know that Red's spirit will live on in our work. Red will be with us on every visit, guiding our therapy teams as they go.
No one says it better than John Grogan in "Marley and Me": “A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not."
We will miss our Red-man every day.
Here are some pictures of Red with the people and dogs he loved most on his last day:
No one says it better than John Grogan in "Marley and Me": “A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not."
We will miss our Red-man every day.
Here are some pictures of Red with the people and dogs he loved most on his last day:
August 2016 Updates
Only one visit to record this month - however, it was a most appropriate day for a canine therapy visit as it was on August 26th which is National Dog Day! Sadie and Peach made the trek to Farmington Country Manor for the afternoon. Check out a couple of pictures below of the girls bonding with residents.
In other news, Big Red Dog Animal Assisted Therapy Group is sad to announce that our namesake, and very first therapy dog, Red, has lymphoma. As a result, our big red dog will no longer be able to attend visits - his health simply does not permit. But we will continue to post updates on Red's condition and with luck he will improve and maybe be able to make a few final visits in his old age. Red has been a tremendous therapy animal, who has touched the lives of many people and inspired others to get involved in animal assisted therapy. He is the reason that I got started in the field of AAT, and I owe my current success to him as my partner in the journey. He will be sorely missed on visits.
We have a hopeful replacement for Red, a young lab mix named Gabi, who we hope to work with and train and eventually bring on as part of the team. Good luck, Gabi!
In other news, Big Red Dog Animal Assisted Therapy Group is sad to announce that our namesake, and very first therapy dog, Red, has lymphoma. As a result, our big red dog will no longer be able to attend visits - his health simply does not permit. But we will continue to post updates on Red's condition and with luck he will improve and maybe be able to make a few final visits in his old age. Red has been a tremendous therapy animal, who has touched the lives of many people and inspired others to get involved in animal assisted therapy. He is the reason that I got started in the field of AAT, and I owe my current success to him as my partner in the journey. He will be sorely missed on visits.
We have a hopeful replacement for Red, a young lab mix named Gabi, who we hope to work with and train and eventually bring on as part of the team. Good luck, Gabi!
July 2016 Visits
Sadie and Red had another wonderful visit at Farmington Country Manor in Farmington, IL. They really enjoyed seeing all of their usual friends and meeting some of the new residents. Sadie even had a mini photo-shoot with a resident and his family who had been anxiously awaiting her arrival.
In addition to our team, Farmington Country Manor also brings in other therapy pets including other dogs and miniature horses. It was great to listen to the stories about these other pets and visit a facility that appreciates the benefits of what we do. Animal Assisted Therapy is an incredible service that touches many parts of peoples' lives. It is also a joy to hear that facilities that we visit allow residents' families to bring in their pets from home. Nothing cheers someone up like a visit from their beloved pet. Big Red Dog is proud to be a surrogate pet for those without the ability to visit a pet from home as well as to be an additional source of puppy love to those who do get to visit with pets from home. You can never have enough dog kisses!
Big Red Dog AAT would like to give a big shout out toFarmington Country Manor (and facilities like them) who make it possible for Big Red Dog AAT, and other groups like ourselves, to do what we love and for recognizing the value of animal assisted therapy in all of it's many forms. Thank you for being an amazing facility and for allowing us to be a part of your residents' success stories!
In addition to our team, Farmington Country Manor also brings in other therapy pets including other dogs and miniature horses. It was great to listen to the stories about these other pets and visit a facility that appreciates the benefits of what we do. Animal Assisted Therapy is an incredible service that touches many parts of peoples' lives. It is also a joy to hear that facilities that we visit allow residents' families to bring in their pets from home. Nothing cheers someone up like a visit from their beloved pet. Big Red Dog is proud to be a surrogate pet for those without the ability to visit a pet from home as well as to be an additional source of puppy love to those who do get to visit with pets from home. You can never have enough dog kisses!
Big Red Dog AAT would like to give a big shout out toFarmington Country Manor (and facilities like them) who make it possible for Big Red Dog AAT, and other groups like ourselves, to do what we love and for recognizing the value of animal assisted therapy in all of it's many forms. Thank you for being an amazing facility and for allowing us to be a part of your residents' success stories!
Pictures from June 2016 Farming Country Manor Visit
A few pictures of the dogs during our visit to FCM yesterday, June 24th. We were lucky enough to get some pictures with residents and the dogs. However, out of respect of privacy of those we visit we only post pictures of the dogs on our website and Facebook page. If you would like to see pictures of the dogs with residents you can check out Farmington Country Manor's Facebook page.
June 2016 Update
Today marks our second visit at Farmington Country Manor in Farmington, IL! This time we will be taking along three dogs (Red, Sadie and Miss Peach) to accommodate residents who need or prefer a smaller breed dog. Miss Peach is a 9 year old Pomeranian mix. Peach has previously visited Lexington Square in Keokuk, IA and the residents in wheelchairs really enjoyed her company! We will be accompanied today by our FCM visit volunteer - and my dad - Clay Vass. Thanks for helping out dad! : )
Two weeks ago we made our first trip to River Hills in Keokuk, IA. Sadie made a solo visit and it was quite the endeavor! We visited about 4 areas within River Hills' facility and met a lot of new people. Sadie did great and didn't get tired once. This was the longest visit she has ever done at a facility solo (about 3 hours) and I was very proud of her performance! Next time we visit, we plan to take along Red and a volunteer. Which reminds us, we are still looking for volunteers in various areas who would like to help out with visits! Please check out our new page about volunteering for more information, an online application and contact info regarding volunteering.
As always, we continue to look for new facilities and groups to visit so please feel free to refer us to any person or facility that you think would enjoy and benefit from our services!
Pictures from our visit today to be posted!
Two weeks ago we made our first trip to River Hills in Keokuk, IA. Sadie made a solo visit and it was quite the endeavor! We visited about 4 areas within River Hills' facility and met a lot of new people. Sadie did great and didn't get tired once. This was the longest visit she has ever done at a facility solo (about 3 hours) and I was very proud of her performance! Next time we visit, we plan to take along Red and a volunteer. Which reminds us, we are still looking for volunteers in various areas who would like to help out with visits! Please check out our new page about volunteering for more information, an online application and contact info regarding volunteering.
As always, we continue to look for new facilities and groups to visit so please feel free to refer us to any person or facility that you think would enjoy and benefit from our services!
Pictures from our visit today to be posted!
New Facility Announcement
and other BRD News
We are happy to announce that we have added yet another facility to our visiting roster! On June 10th Big Red Dog AAT will make its first visit to River Hills Village in Keokuk, IA! We would like to thank the people who made this connection possible: Thank you Jake Vass, activities director at Farmington Country Manor for hooking us up with his friend Jamie Riddle at River Hills. AAT is a growing field that a lot of people still either don't know about or aren't sure about and networking connections make all the difference when it comes to expanding our visiting reach. Red and Sadie will both attend our first visit to River Hills and we look forward to meeting all of the wonderful people at their facility and creating a regular visiting relationship!
In other news, Big Red Dog AAT would like to give a shout out to anyone out there in visiting land that has seen our website here on Weebly or our Facebook page and has been thinking about giving us a call for a visit. We are open to any and all sizes of facilities and/or groups and have experience working with children and adults of various ages and needs. We would like to encourage you to contact us and set up a new visit. BRD visits are usually held on Fridays or Saturdays (as I work full-time throughout the week), however we will accommodate Sunday visits and visits on other days of the week with some advanced notice. We will visit as early as 8 AM and as late as 5 pm.
We would also like to give a shout out to anyone out there who is thinking about getting into AAT or who is interested in volunteering/shadowing to get some experience in the field. BRD is passionate about animal assisted therapy and we want to be able to visit as many people as possible, but sometimes that can be hard with only one handler. If you, or someone you know, is interested in learning more about AAT or volunteering with an established AAT group please contact us. Volunteers must be 16 years of age (per our registration requirements) and may bring their own therapy animal, but can also volunteer if they do not have a registered therapy pet. Please check out our newest page Volunteer with BRD for more information on how to get connected with our organization and help out! BRD is based in Dallas City, IL, but we do travel at quite a distance and so we are open to having volunteers in multiple locations that we would be able to call and meet up with at places in their area.
In other news, Big Red Dog AAT would like to give a shout out to anyone out there in visiting land that has seen our website here on Weebly or our Facebook page and has been thinking about giving us a call for a visit. We are open to any and all sizes of facilities and/or groups and have experience working with children and adults of various ages and needs. We would like to encourage you to contact us and set up a new visit. BRD visits are usually held on Fridays or Saturdays (as I work full-time throughout the week), however we will accommodate Sunday visits and visits on other days of the week with some advanced notice. We will visit as early as 8 AM and as late as 5 pm.
We would also like to give a shout out to anyone out there who is thinking about getting into AAT or who is interested in volunteering/shadowing to get some experience in the field. BRD is passionate about animal assisted therapy and we want to be able to visit as many people as possible, but sometimes that can be hard with only one handler. If you, or someone you know, is interested in learning more about AAT or volunteering with an established AAT group please contact us. Volunteers must be 16 years of age (per our registration requirements) and may bring their own therapy animal, but can also volunteer if they do not have a registered therapy pet. Please check out our newest page Volunteer with BRD for more information on how to get connected with our organization and help out! BRD is based in Dallas City, IL, but we do travel at quite a distance and so we are open to having volunteers in multiple locations that we would be able to call and meet up with at places in their area.
April 2016
We are happy to say that both of our visits this month were a success! We had our usual fun seeing all of our friends at Lexington Square in Keokuk, IA on the 15th, then we turned around and met a whole new facility of people the following week on the 29th. To add to that, Red and Sadie were able to pair up again for a double-dog visit at Farmington. It's not often that our furry friends get a chance to tag team a visit or get the chance to visit two facilities in a row! The dogs were more than excited to get out and meet everyone at Farmington (as you can see below) and I think that it is safe to say that Farmington Country Manor is going to become a regular visiting stop on our calendar. The residents loved meeting Red and Sadie and getting to know more about them. A huge thank you to my brother, Jake Vass, the new activities director at FCM and another huge thank you to my dad, Clay Vass, for coming out and being my volunteer for the day so that I could take both dogs with me! Organizations like BRD rely on energetic and reliable volunteers, without which we wouldn't be able to make some visits possible. We are still on the look out for more facilities to visit! If you know of a facility that would benefit or would like a visit from BRD, let us know on the "Contact" page. If you know someone in the Dallas City, IL area who would like to volunteer or maybe already has a registered therapy dog but is looking for an organization to hook up with to get visits please also hit up our contact page. We would love to hear from you! In the meantime, check out our awesome dogs in the pictures below!
New Facility Announcement!
Big Red Dog AAT Group is excited to announce that we will be adding a new nursing facility to our visiting roster! Beginning April 30th we will visit Farmington Country Manor in Farmington, IL. We are very excited about this new opportunity. Wish us luck on our first visit! Of course, we will also be making our monthly round to The Square on the 15th. Updates and pictures to come!
March 2016
This month for her visit, Sadie brought along her adopted Pomeranian sister, Peaches. Unfortunately Peach wouldn't hold still long enough to get a good picture of the two (without including a resident in the photo). A lot of the ladies at The Square absolutely adored Peach and the respiratory and less mobile clients appreciated that she was able to sit on the bed or in the wheel chair with them. At the end of our visit, the vote was unanimous, The Square definitely wants Peaches to visit again! It remains to be seen how Sadie will deal with having the attention divided between the two of them!
February 2016
Sadie's second solo visit to Lexington Square went great! She was so excited to see all of her friends again she ran right through the door. She was disappointed (as pictured below) that we had to wait until lunch was over to start visiting!
January 2016
Sadie made her second independent visit to the Square this month. We are proud to say that she was able to visit the entire facility this time without a break, and she didn't even get nervous or break training around new equipment. The residents of the facility are beginning to know her well and look forward to her visits, so we are proud of her progress. The power of animal assisted therapy is truly great. As many know, sometimes the only thing that can brighten your day is the love and attention of an animal. Driving to the Square isn't always a breeze, and it takes a good chunk of the day, but it is worth it to hear just one resident say "This visit made my day. This is what makes me happy today." when they are struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel or keep optimistic about their recovery. Animals are a blessing to us all.
December 2015
Unfortunately Sadie and I had to cancel our monthly visit to Lexington Square due to myself being sick and the holidays. However, here are some cute pictures of Sadie enjoying her Christmas holiday with her "brothers" (Dooley, Duke and Felix the cat) as well as our visit to see "Uncle" Red who now lives with my parents. Red and I are hoping to get a visit scheduled with IBMS again to see all of the kids again. (See Above)
November 2015
Sadie took her first solo visit this month to Lexington Square. She wasn't even a bit nervous and did great! Sadie visited about half of the facility and spent about 2 hours total providing therapy to residents. Red will continue to make appearances when able, but after the success of this first visit, Sadie will be visiting primarily.
September 2015
BRD is proud to announce the addition of a new therapy dog to our team!
"Sadie" will now be joining Red on his visits as she begins her journey to therapy certification. Learn more about Sadie on our "Meet the Dogs" Page.
In other news, BRD recently visited a new facility - Lexington Square Care Facility in Keokuk, IA. This was Sadie's first official therapy trip and it is safe to say she did phenomenal! Check out the slideshow below for some pictures of the dogs' trip. Red and Sadie visited about 70 people at the facility over the course of 2 hours. The visit was such a success that BRD will be coordinating regular visits with Lexington Square's activities department. We are very pleased to add "The Square" to our list of organizations served.
Unfortunately Sadie and I had to cancel our monthly visit to Lexington Square due to myself being sick and the holidays. However, here are some cute pictures of Sadie enjoying her Christmas holiday with her "brothers" (Dooley, Duke and Felix the cat) as well as our visit to see "Uncle" Red who now lives with my parents. Red and I are hoping to get a visit scheduled with IBMS again to see all of the kids again. (See Above)
November 2015
Sadie took her first solo visit this month to Lexington Square. She wasn't even a bit nervous and did great! Sadie visited about half of the facility and spent about 2 hours total providing therapy to residents. Red will continue to make appearances when able, but after the success of this first visit, Sadie will be visiting primarily.
September 2015
BRD is proud to announce the addition of a new therapy dog to our team!
"Sadie" will now be joining Red on his visits as she begins her journey to therapy certification. Learn more about Sadie on our "Meet the Dogs" Page.
In other news, BRD recently visited a new facility - Lexington Square Care Facility in Keokuk, IA. This was Sadie's first official therapy trip and it is safe to say she did phenomenal! Check out the slideshow below for some pictures of the dogs' trip. Red and Sadie visited about 70 people at the facility over the course of 2 hours. The visit was such a success that BRD will be coordinating regular visits with Lexington Square's activities department. We are very pleased to add "The Square" to our list of organizations served.