A few of the attendees barked, but they weren’t complaining. They just wanted to welcome some of the other canine guests and their partners.

The recent event, the Paws From the Heart appreciation awards banquet, was held at Club Jogues in Coventry. Channel 10’s Mario Hilario, a big supporter of the organization and the work they do read off the awards as Sue Parker handed recipients certificates and awards. Parker and her husband, Harry run the program that trains therapy teams  and links them with schools, hospitals, nursing homes, colleges and fire and police departments. Dogs and their partners are called on to offer comfort in tragedies and to work one-on-one with people. Paws works on educating communities on the opportunities and benefits of pet therapy.  It has been shown that pet therapy dogs improve the physical, emotional and psychological lives of those they meet. Pet therapy lifts spirits and lessens depression or decreases anxiety.  Overall pet therapy makes patients feel good and decreases feelings of loneliness, isolation, and alienation.  There wasn’t any need for therapy at the awards ceremony unless you consider some of the dogs that looked anxiously on as their partners enjoyed a sumptuous spread. Their partners shared and all went well. (Warwick Beacon photos)