Guest blogger Margaret Daley

Actually more than dogs are special. I love animals, but today I’m going to write about dogs because I started a Love Inspired series called Caring Canines. The first book is out in August called Healing Hearts. The second book in the series will be out in December called Her Holiday Hero.

In Healing Hearts I use a black Lab and a bichon as therapy dogs. The black Lab, Gabe, helped the heroine, Abbey Harris, deal with the grief of losing her daughter and her husband divorcing her. The bichon, Cottonballs, helps Madi, the hero’s little sister who had been in a place wreck and lost her parents. Not only does Cottonballs help her with her grief but also she is there to help the little girl focus on her physical therapy when she wants to retreat into her shell.

While researching this book and Her Holiday Hero about a vet with PTSD, I was in awe with the types tasks therapy and service dogs can be trained to do. With my vet with PTSD, trained service dogs can wake a person up before a nightmare gets into full swing. They can calm a person down with their presence and sharp sense something is wrong and step in right away. They can sense when a panic attack is going to occur and try to calm the person down.

Working as a teacher of students with special needs, I encountered a couple of service dogs. One named Franklin helped a student who was in a wheelchair while another was involved with a blind student.

Have you ever encountered a therapy or service dog? Do you have a dog? What is your favorite breed? I used to have a bichon named Cottonballs. Wonderful, loving dog. Perfect to help a little girl, hurting.