You wouldn't necessarily think of a television dog show as “interactive.”
But the National Dog Show Thursday on NBC, noon-2 p.m., will show you how, if you have a dog of your own, it could be.
Okay, you can’t drive Rover to the show and expect to come home later that afternoon with a blue ribbon.
But if you have the time and inclination, there’s a good chance Rover could do something even more valuable and rewarding: become a therapy dog.
The National Dog Show this year will be promoting the therapy dog program, which is tied to the Angel on a Leash project run by David Frei.
Frei, who dog fans also know from his narration of the annual Westminster Kennel Club show in February, handles the “dog stuff” on Thursday’s annual show, alongside the more whimsical color commentator John O’Hurley.
When he’s not in his black tie on TV explaining breed characteristics in civilian terms, Frei often takes his own two dogs, Brittany Spaniels named Angel and Grace, to places like Sloan Kettering or the Ronald McDonald House.
They snuggle their cool wet noses and soft warm fur up against kids with bad diseases, recovering veterans, ailing seniors and other people who could really use something cheerful.
“And it works,” says Frei. “Therapists at these facilities will tell us, ‘This is the first time she’s smiled all week.’ A patient who doesn’t want to stand up for exercise therapy stands right up for a chance to walk with the dog.”
These anecdotal moments, says Frei, are also increasingly backed by scientists, who find that contact with dogs can have a beneficial effect on physical symptoms like high blood pressure.
Moreover, many of the country’s ordinary pets could do this. Unlike Seeing Eye dogs, who require extensive specialized training, a therapy dog can be any dog that gets along with people.
“Different dogs have different personalities, of course,” says Frei. “A dog that doesn’t like to roll around with children wouldn’t go to Ronald McDonald House. But that same dog could do a great job at a VA hospital.”
Anyone who has a dog and would be interested in this kind of volunteering can go to the website angelonaleash.org. The organization can assess a dog’s potential in the therapy field.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s show will provide its quick annual run through the 175-plus breeds now registered by the American Kennel Club.
“We can’t show every breed the way we do with Westminster, because we only have two hours instead of nine,” says Frei. “But you can still sit there and root for your own dog’s breed.”
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