Pocatello veterans home gets new dog
The Idaho State Veterans Home in Pocatello has a new additon. “Glory” is an emotional support dog. She came to the veterans home about a month ago.
The home purchases her a year ago when she was just six weeks old, then she was sent to training for nine months.
Glory is a labradoodle and will be one year old next week.
Glory can sense when veterans need comfort, she goes on walks with them, she shakes, she’s very friendly and she loves to play.
“She’s been phenomenal,” said Josiah Dahlstrom, administrator for the veterans home. “Thus far, we’ve seen a lot of success.”
Dahlstrom said they felt adding Glory as a staff member would help the residents’ quality of life. It would give them a positive outlook on life, a great attitude, something to look forward to and a sense of responsibility.
Dahlstrom said even in just the month she’s been at the home, Glory has had a positive effect. They have seen several success stories.
One resident who never wanted to participate in activities now will thanks to Glory. Another resident has a hard time with certain hygiene procedures, but Glory is able to calm her and let the staff walk her through it.
“She’s made a big difference,” Dahlstrom said. “Some of them get out more often, they’ll go outside more often, even just taking her out to go play or to go potty. They get more involved. One of them said, ‘I don’t come out for just anybody but I’ll come out for her.'”
Both the staff and the veterans love Glory.
“I think she’s a wonderful dog,” said Ned Mickelsen, a WWII veteran. “She’s smart. I didn’t know dogs could be that smart. I think she’s an asset to the veterans down here and I think everybody enjoys her.”
Glory is at the veterans home Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Glory still does have a lot of training still to do. She’s learning a lot of new things, like how to push a handicap button to open a door or how to help residents pick certain things up.
Glory also makes visits to some people outside of the home. If you know anyone that could benefit from a visit from Glory, contact the veterans home at 208-235-7800. If you would like to donate any money to help with Glory’s expenses, you can also contact the veterans home for more information.
