From North Jersey.com: Shelby, a rescued Pit Bull, lives with Joe Dwyer and is certified as a therapy dog, but her story doesn’t end there. After a horrible start in life, Shelby ended up at a shelter and was adopted by Joe, who was a volunteer at the shelter.
After seeing Shelby comfort an elderly man in a wheelchair during one of their walks, Joe worked with Shelby to receive certification as a therapy dog from Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc. They are also working on bereavement certification, allowing them to work with those who have lost a family member.
But the really cool thing that Joe and Shelby do is to fight bullying by meeting with school children in North Jersey. Joe takes Shelby to school assemblies and talks about how, even though Shelby has a certificate and has successfully worked with many different people in many different and difficult situations, she is still banned from certain places because she is a Pit Bull.
Because profiling (or judging a book by its cover) is a part of bullying, Joe tells the kids about Shelby’s amazing recovery from abuse and neglect, showing them how good can come from someone who looks different from “normal”.
Joe shares Shelby’s story in the book Shelby’s Grace, available in paperback & Kindle from Amazon.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!