Their job is to make other people smile—whether having a bad day or a challenging time recovering from illness. It can be very moving. It can also make you laugh, depending on what the animal is doing and the clients.
The Legacy of a Therapy Dog Named Bubba Watson
Basset Hound brought comfort and support to patients, students, families, and workers, from young to old, in his eight years as a therapy animal
A classroom full of preschoolers erupts into laughter when Bubba Watson shakes his head to unravel his nearly foot-long ears, which are tied into knots. The Basset Hound lays in bed with hospice patients, visits support groups, seeks out those less comfortable, and cheers up students and teachers rattled after a bomb threat.
In his ten years of life, Bubba brought tremendous joy not only to his family, but also to all those he visited as a therapy pet. His owner and handler, Kellye Riani, recognized early on Bubba’s ability to pick up on people’s emotions. “He naturally had the personality built for it. He’d see people on the street and draw them in with his eyes to pet him.”
Bubba has a decorated history. He was an American Kennel Club® (AKC) Champion and Canine Good Citizen® (CGC). At the New England Basset Hound Rescue’s annual Bassetpalooza, Bubba twice won the Longest Ear Contest, measuring 11 and a half inches.
Riani has been involved with dogs since a young age when she started competing in 4-H with her family dog. She taught Bubba his obedience skills before becoming a certified handler. While working as a liaison with the Ophthalmology and Neurology Teams at Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals (FHSA) at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, she learned about Tufts PAWS for People (PAWS). The nonprofit organization runs a program of trained volunteers to provide therapy animal support to those in need. PAWS is a Community Partner group of Pet Partners® Therapy Animal Program, a national nonprofit that trains and certifies handlers and their therapy animals.
Deb Gibbs (she/her), program director for PAWS and veterinary technician at FHSA, has been with PAWS since its inception in 2005. She explains that PAWS provides support and training for people like Riani who are interested in bringing their animals to visit people in various settings—from patients in hospitals and nursing homes to children learning to read at libraries. PAWS animals visit high schools and universities throughout Massachusetts during MCAS testing and final exams to offer stress relief for students. In support groups, the animals are often conversation starters, as many people share memories of their pets. PAWS also recently began workplace wellness pet therapy visits with corporations, including Fidelity Investments, John Hancock, and J.P. Morgan.
“Their job is to make other people smile—whether having a bad day or a challenging time recovering from illness,” says Gibbs. “It can be very moving. It can also make you laugh, depending on what the animal is doing and the clients.”
While the majority of therapy animals are dogs, PAWS offers nine species of therapy pets, including cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and even a mini-horse named Gypsy. Two alpacas are in the process of becoming registered therapy animal teams with their handlers. When therapy animals are invited to a facility, they are joined by their registered handler, typically their owner. Before each visit, the animals must undergo several steps, including a bath within 24 hours and nail clipping. Gibbs also stresses that they want the animal’s “consent,” feeling secure that the pet wants to visit the facilities and enjoys the work. Riani is certified as a handler and Bubba as a therapy animal through PAWS and Pet Partners.
“Bubba had a friendly personality to excel as a therapy dog,” says Riani. “He’s a great partner; he doesn’t get stressed out. He takes everything in stride, bounces around, and greets everyone.”
Gibbs agrees, “Bubba certainly makes people smile. Basset Hounds are not a popular breed in this area, so he’s atypical when he goes into a facility. Even when he’s going full tilt, his short stubby legs look in slow motion. His gait makes him roll from side to side. The whole package is almost comic looking. He’s great with little kids and older people. He lights up the room by his appearance; people just laugh when they see him.”
Bubba started up his career in animal therapy with the Pet Loss Support Group at Cummings School, where he offered emotional support for people grieving the loss of a pet.
Eric Richman (he/him), a veterinary social worker at Cummings School, runs the group. “In our support group, therapy dogs have the intuitive ability to recognize and provide comfort to those in distress. They recognize body language, tone of voice, and outward demonstrations of sadness. Bubba was special. He was gentle, innately intuitive to human needs, and his physical presence was always non-threatening given his sometimes silly walk and appearance.”
Bubba also visited with pet owners whose animals were receiving treatment at FHSA and provided therapy.
When Riani began working as a volunteer coordinator at SALMON Hospice Care in Milford, Massachusetts six years ago, Bubba came on board too. Riani started a pet therapy program for SALMON. Bubba performed weekly therapy visits with patients, residents, and families. He’d lay next to bed-bound patients and was present at the time of death for two patients. He also attended team meetings, greeting everyone and often sensing and settling next to any staff members with a difficult caseload.
“Everybody’s situation is different, and everyone takes away something different from pet therapy,” says Riani. “If you put a therapy pet in bed with someone ill, you can see their bodies relax. They smile; they have that sense of the weight of a dog there, not judging or there to treat, just there. You don’t need to speak the same language to get it. There are non-verbal kids I visit; the dog can understand them, show love, and the kids show love right back. He’s such a goofy-looking dog; he makes everybody smile and feel better.”
Riani also liked to take Bubba to visit the preschoolers at her daughter’s daycare in Northbridge. They read a book together and sing “Do Your Ears Hang Low.” The kids asked questions about Bubba, petted him, and fed him cookies. Riani tied his ears into knots and shook them loose to make the kids laugh. “The kids all love him. The noise, everything, Bubba eats it up.”
Riani and Bubba underwent additional training process with Pet Partners to become Animal Assisted Crisis Response Certified. Recently, her older daughter’s elementary school received a bomb threat, shaking up the students and staff.
“I had Bubba bathed and ready to do a facility visit. I reached out to the principal to tell him we have this resource, and he jumped on it,” recalls Riani. “Bubba is very sensitive and picks up on those who need an extra visit, staff members who need a friendly dog to pet. I brought him into most of the classrooms. Some of the kids gravitated to him, and he gravitated to those who needed extra love.”
In July, Bubba was diagnosed with canine lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in dogs. His demeanor didn’t change, even while undergoing chemotherapy at FHSA. “Bubba impacts everyone he meets,” says Riani. “Walking into the hospital, everyone knows him and goes to him.”
Sadly, Bubba passed away just a few weeks after his diagnosis.
Reflecting on Bubba’s early days as a therapy dog with the Pet Loss Therapy Group, Richman says, “Bubba, being a Basset Hound, moved slowly. He had a long snout and big ears that dragged along the floor. He immediately would go over to someone crying or looking sad, nuzzle or sit down next to them, and invite them to pet him. Participants loved Bubba and often responded with a smile. For some who were more introverted members of our group, it put them at ease, allowing them sometimes to open up and share while they had the security of Bubba by their side. Bubba has been an amazing therapy dog and touched many lives.”