Meet the Team
Maggie May
Maggie May is both beautiful and smart - Maggie passed her therapy dog tests on her first try. She comes to us from Cathy Greene at Cabin Creek Labradors. She is incredibly sweet - no surprise for a chocolate lab! (Get it? Sweet…Chocolate…). OK moving on…Maggie May enjoys chasing squirrels, couch surfing, and a wide variety of chewing activities.
Certification: AKC Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog.
Delbert
Dave (Human Being)
I earned my M.S. in Occupational Therapy from UIC in 1997 and have been working in Special Education for over 25+ years. I founded TheraPets.orgLLC in 2016 with the intent of integrating both Occupational Therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy in the schools.
Prior to becoming an O.T., I owned Countryside Animal Spa - a full service boarding, breeding, grooming and training kennel in Mundelein, IL. In the 1980’s I trained dogs in Chicago for Ludwig Gessner - a founding member of the US Army Canine Corps.
Certifications: AKC Canine Good Citizen, Therapy Dog
Riley
Certification: Therapy Dog
Gibson
Certifications: AKC Canine Good Citizen, Therapy Dog
I’ve loved all my dogs over the years, but my St. Bernard therapy dog Gibson will always hold a special place in my heart. Everyone should be lucky enough to be loved like Gibson loved me. I miss him immensely…
Missing Gibson
I miss how patient and loving he was with our special ed. students when they’d pull his hair, bop his nose or use him as a pillow.
I miss how gently he took dog treats from my hand.
I miss his big jowls, giant tongue and slobbery kisses.
I miss how he had that peppy bounce in his step and kind of “strutted” down the hallways.
I miss him resting his big head on the fireplace and thinking – how can that possibly be comfortable?
I miss how he absolutely trampled the yellow flowers in the yard but left the orange ones alone.
I miss his tiny “chicklet” front teeth, which seemed so out of place in his big St. Bernard mouth.
I miss how his whole face jiggled when he ran.
I miss the students asking “does he have eyes?” because of his big head, or “is he sleeping?” when he laid down and snored (loudly) with his deep breathing.
I miss how he was so cooperative taking baths, even though the tub was too small for him.
I miss him always following right behind me when I did yardwork.
I miss him allowing Riley (our 13 y/o Labrador) to go up the stairs first because she was older and slower.
I miss him waiting up for me in the laundry room when I got home late from hockey.
I miss seeing his big fuzzy head sticking out the window in the side mirror on car rides.
I miss the student’s laughter when I stretched out his big ears and made him look like Dumbo.
I miss finding his slobber in creative places in the house.
I miss his head covered in snow when he went under a snowy tree in winter.
I miss him sprawling out and taking up most of our king size bed.
I miss his beautiful brown eyes and the way he looked at me.
I miss giving him tummy rubs (his absolute favorite).
Mostly, I’ll just miss how happy he was coming to school with me and how much he loved EVERYBODY.
Gibson had a wonderful life and brought joy to many.
I miss him every single day.
RIP big boy. ❤️ Gibson.