Henry is a five-month old St. Bernard-Newfoundland mix puppy with a job.
He doesn’t contribute to the Canada Pension Plan, and has no benefits plan to speak of. But he does get paid -- in cookies.
Henry works at the Sister Leila Greco and Pierre Cook apartments for seniors and his job is to visit with the tenants and generally cheer people up. Sister Leila Greco tenant Darquise Lebel said Henry is like their mascot and he makes everyone happy.
“He’s good to everybody and everybody just enjoys him,” she said. “He comes for treats and he comes for loving.”
Lebel has a dog of her own, but she’s unable to take care of it herself anymore.
“My son has her and when she sees Henry, she’s not happy,” she said, with a laugh.
Henry also helps fill a void for tenant Joan Hopkins.
“Sometimes I miss my family and I feel lonely and he comes and lets me pat him and it gives me a nice warm feeling,” she said.
Henry belongs to Sister Leila Greco and Pierre Cook Apartments’ housing co-ordinator Nancy Scoging.
She brings him to work every day and Henry will sleep in her office while she works and then she takes Henry to visit residents.
“It’s a good opportunity for tenants who don’t have pets or they’re not able to manage on their own anymore,” Scoging said.
“They still want to interact with the animals but not have the responsibility of taking care of them.”
The tenants all love to see Henry and always check to see how much bigger he’s grown since the last time they saw him.
“They get a kick out of that. It’s good pet therapy for them,” Scoging said.
“It brings out the best in people.”
While Henry could grow to be up to 150 pounds, Scoging said bigger dogs are better for pet therapy because they’re usually less jumpy and less vocal than smaller dogs.
There are benefits of the job for Henry as well.
“He’s a little bit more social than I think he would have been if I had just left him at home,” Scoging said.
“This way he gets to see a lot of people; he gets to see other animals, too. It’s calming him down in that he’s getting more used to that kind of environment and stimulation, which is really good for his overall behaviour,” she said.
And Henry will keep his job as long as everyone still wants him, Scoging added.
