Dogs trained in the T.O.U.C.H. program visit nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and other health care facilities. The people they visit experience increased physical activity, decreased blood pressure and have less preoccupation with their illness or disability.
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Burney and Will are a T.O.U.C.H. team for Support Dogs. A big part of what makes them special is that Will isn't any ordinary dog - he has three legs rather than four.
That's one of the reasons Burney adopted him. She knew that to many people, Will wouldn't seem worth rescuing. In fact, she had heard comments along those lines the day she adopted her first dog, Fawn, who also has just three legs.
Burney knows just because a dog has three legs doesn't mean he or she can't be a loving pet - or, as in Fawn's and Will's cases, much more.
'Fawn's Story'
Burney was at the annual Greentree Festival in Kirkwood when she walked past a display by Open Door Animal Sanctuary which had brought a group of dogs available for adoption. She noticed Fawn right away. A sign on her cage read, "Shhh! Fawn doesn't know she has only three legs."
As Burney walked around the festival that day she noticed one by one the other animals were all being adopted, but Fawn was still there. Every now and then she would overhear a parent telling their child why they shouldn't adopt Fawn. Things like, "You don't want this one - she's funny looking! There's something wrong with a dog that's missing a leg. We don't want this one. She's definitely not perfect."
To Burney, a former elementary schoolteacher, such comments were shocking and sad.
"We always worked very hard to not get kids to think that way," she said. Burney ended up adopting Fawn that day with the intention of finding her another home. It wasn't long, though, before Fawn worked her way into Burney's heart and her home.
Burney had only planned to keep Fawn as a pet, but after watching her interact with some of the neighborhood kids, she thought Fawn might like to spend more time with children. ". . . and I'll bet there are children who'd like to spend time with Fawn," she told her husband.
They took Fawn to Support Dogs Inc. to see if she had the right temperment to be a therapy dog. She did and after weeks of training, Fawn graduated at the top of her class.
That was 11 years ago. Since then, Burney and Fawn have had a great time visiting people in nursing homes and hospitals and making presentations at area schools to educate children about therapy dogs and physical differences in dogs and people.
"Many children with disabilities have questions about how others will perceive them and about how they will cope," Burney notes in her brochure for "Fawn's Story," a book she wrote in 2002 about Fawn's work as a therapy dog.
"Children, teachers, parents, friends and family are eager for quality children's literature with a positive message about celebrating and respecting differences," the brochure reads. "In describing how she helps children and adults see past a 'disability' to personality and ability, the theme of 'Fawn's Story' emerges: 'It's what's inside that counts.' "
Burney, who is a past Missouri National Education Association State Teacher of the Year and now teaches children's literature at Fontbonne University in Clayton, said she can't imagine a life without her volunteer work with T.O.U.C.H.
"This has changed my entire life," she remarked.
Yet Burney knew there would come a day that Fawn would be too old for therapy work. What would she do then?
Three years ago, Burney learned about Will and realized he could be the solution.
Will's Story
Critters for Critters President Elsie Roth remembers the day her organization rescued Will.
"He was found here in Franklin County running on the side of a road," she said. "He had four legs, but one wasn't really attached - it was a congenital anomoly. It would just kind of swing back and forth."
Critters took Will in and had the leg (front right) amputated. Will responded well, said Roth, but that didn't surprise her - he had really only been using three legs before the surgery, so amputating the leg wasn't much of a change for him.
"There was a period of adjustment," Roth recalled, "but he was never depressed and he learned his center of balance very quickly."
Losing a front leg can be very difficult for dogs, especially larger dogs like Will, who at the time weighed about 80 pounds.
"The front legs are power legs," explained Roth. "Dogs that lose a back leg adjust well, but losing a front leg is difficult."
For that reason, some people might have thought rescuing a dog that had lost a front leg wasn't worth the trouble or expense of amputation - better just to put him to sleep. Not Roth, she believes in giving every animal a chance at a happy life.
"It's amazing when you see the expanse of what these animals can do," Roth remarked.
She gave Will the medical care he needed and then set about trying to find him a new home. When Roth heard about Burney and Fawn and their work for T.O.U.C.H., she tracked Burney down and asked if she would be interested in giving another dog with special needs a home.
Burney couldn't resist.
"I knew Fawn would have to retire some day, and I do not want to give this up, so I said yes to Will."
Will graduated his T.O.U.C.H. training April 21 and has already made several school appearances with Burney. Fawn, who is now 12, is officially retired.
Burney, in addition to her work at Fontbonne and for Support Dogs, is a free-lance author and has one published book of poetry for children.
For more information on Support Dogs, people can visit www.supportdogs.org.
