Omri is a Miniature Schnauzer/American Staffordshire Terrier mix that Karen adopted from a shelter when he was just 3 months old. He proved very early on that he was born to be a therapy dog. “Everywhere we go, he makes a beeline toward people, regardless of what else is going on in his environment,” Karen said.
“He has an uncanny ability to tell if someone needs his attention. Once, when we were walking at the park, he suddenly veered off the path and went directly up to a woman who was sitting on a bench by the pond. We began talking as she petted Omri, and she eventually told me that she had been having a really rough week, and this was exactly what she needed.”
Omri started making therapy visits when he was just 7 months old, and he was scheduled to make his 400th visit on his 5th birthday in March of 2020, when everything shut down due to COVID. Although it was a difficult wait, the team made good use of their time, learning new tricks to take along when Omri would finally be able to get back to his job. During the summer of 2020, he earned all five AKC Trick Dog trick titles and was more anxious than ever to get to work and share them with people. Finally, on May 5th, he was able to make his 400th visit at an independent living community for seniors (Embark at Willowbrook Park) and earn his Therapy Dog Distinguished title.
“This little dog absolutely lives for his job, and he has no plans to retire any time soon! As long as there are people to visit, Omri will be there with a big grin on his face, loving on and entertaining people with all the new tricks that he now knows,” Karen said.