By Maryanne George ('71, M.A. '72)

Ali Breeding kneels next to Jerina Durant’s wheelchair as Sasha, Ali’s therapy dog, snuggles in Jerina's lap. Jerina, who is at U-M’s Mott Children’s Hospital for the fourth time this year, has been anticipating the small gray dog’s visit all day.

“She’s so cute and comfortable,” Jerina says as she strokes Sasha’s curly coat while sitting in a patient lounge. “I woke up thinking about the dog coming today. It takes my mind off of my problems and lifts my spirits for the whole day.”

Helping children like Jerina is what drives Ali. The youngest volunteer for Therapaws, a nonprofit pet therapy organization serving the Ann Arbor area, Ali, 17, has been visiting children at Mott for about two years. An LSA first-year student, Ali says she has always had a special affinity for children. She hopes to become an obstetrician/gynecologist.

“I wanted to volunteer at Mott because I can relate more to children,” Ali says after the visit, with Sasha sitting patiently in her lap. “Most of the Therapaws volunteers are in their 40s and when I was a child, I did not know what to say to adults. If I got sick I would have been in Mott and I would have wanted someone to come to visit me with a dog.”

Sasha, a 10-pound schnoodle (a cross between a poodle and a schnauzer), showed her sensitivity for people who were hurting as a young dog, Ali says. She remembers Sasha, who is now six years old, cuddling up to her sprained ankle. When Ali’s mom, Judi, injured her shoulder, Sasha laid on it gently. After rigorous screening by Therapaws, Sasha and Ali were certified as a therapy team.

Sasha enjoys making rounds at Mott. She is careful to avoid painful areas on patients, and sometimes she curls up next to a child and falls asleep. Ali still remembers a 10-year-old boy who was receiving physical therapy and had not spoken or moved much for weeks.

“I knelt down next to him with Sasha, and he started petting her,” Ali says. “Everyone in the room, the parents and the therapists, started crying. It was like the little boy was not there and then he came back.”

Jerina’s mother, Deborah Trotter, says Sasha and Ali’s visit helped her daughter forget her pain for a while. “Normally she’s just lying in bed hurting but this morning, although she’s still hurting, the dog has lifted her mood,” she says.

The benefits of pet therapy are incredible, according to Jerry Reed, an activity therapist at Mott. He’s seen children “light up” and become more interactive using motor skills they would not normally use. The young patients especially appreciate Ali’s youth, and Sasha’s petite stature makes it easy for her to hop on patients’ beds.

“Ali has such a gentle spirit and it’s clear she has a deep love for Sasha,” Reed says. “The teenage patients relate to her more than they would an adult.”

Ali applied to be a Therapaws volunteer shortly after she turned 16, the minimum age requirement for the organization, says Mary Ann Trainor, Therapaws President. Her talent was obvious right away.

“We knew she would be a huge success anywhere she was placed because she is so mature, so responsible, and carries herself so well,” Trainor says. “She represents the Therapaws organization in such a positive manner, and we are extremely proud to have her on our team.”

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