Giant Irish Wolfhound Acts as 'Therapy Dog' for Homeless Pets
It’s no secret that life in an animal shelter can be stressful on the creatures trapped there. Many come from terrible situations, and the noise, smells and crowding at these facilities can be scary for animals who don’t understand what has happened to them and may not be in the best condition. For this reason, many shelters encourage fostering, where an animal can live temporarily in a person’s house while waiting to be permanently adopted. There, rescue workers can get a better sense of the creature’s true personality and the animals can be in a safe and comfortable situation—one where they might be properly socialized and trained before finding their forever home.
But for those creatures who have to stay int eh shelter due to lack of space or medical conditions, there’s a new option to make them feel more at home—therapy dogs. Just as especially kind and gentle dogs can be trained to give emotional support and comfort to people in hospitals or other scenarios, so they can help homeless animals and improve their spirits. And that’s exactly what Chicken the Irish Wolfhound does at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.
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Chicken is a two-year-old Irish Wolfhound, and like most members of her breed, she’s positively massive. Her adventures are chronicled on the social media feed aptly named @ginormousdog. By day, she helps out at the MSPCA-Angell facility playing with the puppies. Often, her family even takes in especially needy fosters to their home. In her spare time, Chicken likes to hang out with her human brother and attempt to make friends with the standoffish family cat. (We’re rooting for you, Chicken!)
Working With Homeless Pets
Chicken is lucky that her owner is on staff at the animal hospital, and she can spend her days playing with the animals waiting there to be adopted. Sometimes, Chicken even donates blood for animals that may need an emergency transfusion.
But you don’t need to be a staff member or an enormous dog to help homeless animals. Rescues everywhere are overwhelmed by needs. Donations of time, money, and even old towels can be great, or registering to be a foster parent and temporarily offering to take in animals at your local rescue can be a great way to reduce the pressure on your local rescue organization.
Is an Irish Wolfhound Right For You?
Irish Wolfhounds are among the tallest of the dog breeds. Some legends about these creatures trace their lineage back over a thousand years to early Roman Britain, though researchers suspect the wolf hunting hounds of the ancient world were a genetically distinct breed that bear little relation to the extremely large modern breed that emerged in the late nineteenth century.
Though gigantic, the Irish Wolfhound is notable for its gentleness and affectionate nature, which is what makes Chicken, even as young as she is, a great dog to have around puppies and kittens at the MSPCA.
For now, Chicken is happy with her life of service-through playtime (with the occasional blood draw), and her photos on social media are helping elevate and share the stories of these precious pets. But don’t contact the MSPCA and ask if Chicken is available to take home. She’s already taken!
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