The Preston Veterans Home welcomed their first resident in January of last year. In March of the same year they welcomed a 1-month-old puppy. Now a year old, this adorable young Cavapoo is living his best life as the home’s facility dog. The veterans home in Preston is one of the five out of eight state homes in Minnesota to have a facility dog.
The Cavapoo dog breed is a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Poodle. The breed has been around since the 1950s and has become increasingly popular. Aside from their adorable appearance and minimal shedding, they are known for being very social, friendly, easy-going and intelligent, which make them ideal emotional support, therapy and service dogs.
Charlie starts his day around 7 a.m. when he arrives at work with Administrator Dave Dunn. He makes the rounds with Dunn and when the staff starts coming in he greets them and asks for treats. The rest of the day is spent socializing with residents and staff as well as greeting visitors.
“Before we (Preston Veterans Home) opened, the staff asked if we could get fish or birds but they are hard to take care of so I said I would compromise and we would get a facility dog,” said Dunn.
The Preston Veterans Home currently has 26 residents and 92 staff members. The facility has 54 rooms available but are currently working on hiring more staff so that they can take in more residents. The home is divided into three households with 18 rooms each as well as fenced in outdoor patios, along with many communal and activity areas. Charlie has access to the entire building with only one restriction. He isn’t allowed in the dining hall during meals.
Charlie came from a breeder in Bemidji, Minn., that Dunn and his family had gotten their three family dogs from (two poodles and a Chihuahua) so it was an easy choice to contact the same breeder about the potential facility dog.
“When my wife talked to the breeder she kind of explained that we were looking for a dog that can go to work and kind of be a therapy dog and he’s (Charlie) got the perfect temperament for that. He’s really good,” stated Dunn.
Charlie knows which staff members keep treats in their desks and visits them when they arrive for the day. He also knows which residents keep treats on them as well.
“There’s one resident that has treats in his walker,” says Dunn with a smile. “He knows exactly who that is so he’ll sniff him out.”
In order to get a treat, Charlie will do a high five, shake or roll over.
But Charlie isn’t just there for the treats. He spends his day moving around the facility bringing smiles, and receiving cuddles and pets from residents, staff and visitors. While his friendly personality and soft curly fur make him practically irresistible, the young Cavapoo has a very important job.
“He’s really good with the guys. He will make his way around and socialize. We’ve got some residents that aren’t very verbal but when they see Charlie they just light up. We had a resident that passed away a couple months ago and the only time that resident really smiled or interacted was when Charlie was around,” explained Dunn. “So that was really cool to see. Charlie would jump up on his bed and lay with him, so he’s a good emotional support dog as well.”
Charlie will be going to school soon to become a certified therapy/service dog through Believet. Located just outside of Northfield, Minn., Believet is an organization that provides service dogs and service dog training to veterans. Service dogs trained specifically for veterans help with not only anxiety and depression, but are very instrumental in helping with the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. Charlie will spend one to two months there where he will receive extensive obedience training. Then Charlie and Dave will travel to Northfield once a week for around six months for specialized training. At some point in the future he may even stay at the Preston Veterans Home 24 hours a day, but for now he goes home with Dunn in the evenings.
“The residents really do enjoy Charlie!” said public relations and volunteer coordinator Gabby Kinneberg. “He actually has a schedule of visits that he goes on in the morning to greet residents and they really do miss him on the days he isn’t here.”
Having a facility dog not only positively impacts the the residents there, it also positively impacts the staff and the visitors.
“It’s pretty special,” stated Kinneberg. “He really has become part of the family here at the veterans home.”
Not only is he a world class greeter, his ability to have free reign in the home lets him interact with as many people as possible while he is there. They also assist with any care he needs while he is at the facility such as bathroom breaks.
“I think he has a huge impact on residents and staff,” said Dunn. “I’ve heard staff say ‘It’s so cool to have a dog in the building.’ He will just meander around and go into some offices and hang out and take a nap. He’s exactly what I was hoping he would be for the facility.”
Joanie says
Good afternoon I am the breeder that they adopted Charlie from, I just wanted everyone to know he was eight weeks old when he went home and I am in Mötley Minnesota. Darcy has bought several family dogs from us.!