DERBY — On a cold January morning, it didn’t take long for Cleda Justice to make a heartwarming connection with the young male visitor seated next to her in the lounge of Brookdale Derby senior living community.
“He’s marvelous,” Justice said as she ran her hands along the soft, fluffy fur of Jax, a 2 ½-year-old golden retriever and certified therapy dog.
“I love dogs.”
That love was very evident during Jax’s visit. At one point, Jax gently pushed his 102-pound body against Justice’s leg as she leaned over to quietly talk to him and kiss the top of his head.
“Who needs a weighted blanket when you have him?” asked Jax’s owner, Kathy Jewett, referring to the retriever’s version of pressure therapy, which feels much like a calming hug.
“You can see why I love him, too,” Jewett said.
“I’ve always had a heart for dogs and for serving others,” said Jewett, who retired in January 2023 from a nearly 36-year career as a human resources executive.
She’d started her career at the Coleman Co. and later worked at Foley Equipment Co., Kaman Composites and XLT Ovens. She continues to serve as a board director for Mid American Credit Union, the National Association of Workforce Boards and the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas board.
With Ellie, her first therapy dog, Jewett made more than 200 visits to hospitals, schools and other settings between 2008 and Ellie’s death in 2017. Ellie had been the first dog allowed into Galicia Heart Hospital, which is now Wesley Woodlawn Hospital, Jewett said.
“It was the perfect thing to fulfill my desire to help others,” said Jewett about getting Ellie certified.
Retirement left Jewett ready to adopt and train another therapy dog. She also has Eddy, a Great Pyrenees and German shepherd mix, whose role is simply being the family pet.
With Jax, Jewett got him acclimated to people by making nearly daily visits to see her mother, who was living in Brookdale Derby. Her mom loved dogs, too. Jewett recalled that after her father died in 1975, her mom adopted a male dog, calling him “the best man I ever met.”
During Jax’s visits, “he would just lay at her feet,” Jewett said.
In August, shortly after Jewett’s mom died, Jax earned his certification through Therapy Dogs International.
To earn his certification, Jax was tested by a certified TDI evaluator on things such as his temperament, which needs to be stable and friendly, and his behavior around people who use service equipment like a wheelchair, cane and other items.
According to the website of UCLA Health, which has a therapy program called People-Animal Connection, “When it comes to healing, dogs may be the best medicine.”
Studies have shown that petting animals helps release hormones, such as serotonin and oxytocin, that positively boost a person’s mood or stimulate the brain, according to the UCLA Health site. A visit with a dog can provide a happy distraction and help people relax. Physical benefits include lowering one’s blood pressure and helping reduce pain levels.
The early January visit to Brookdale Derby was the pair’s first since Jax became certified, While Jax spent most of that time with Justice, he also sat by Luella Lagsbon and patiently submitted to petting by Patti Payne.
In December, Jewett and Jax were invited to visit some teens at Derby High School’s Panther Learning Center.
For Jewett — who also makes customized memory pillows and quilts, many of them commemorating pets — the school visit affirmed her belief in the beneficial effects of a therapy dog.
“One girl said, “This is the most peace I’ve had in a long time.’ Another said, ‘He makes me happy,’” Jewett said.
Jax had a similar effect on Justice.
“He got me calmed down,” she said.
She also responded positively to Jewett’s rhetorical question, “So, it will be OK if I bring him back?”
Contact Amy Geiszler-Jones at algj64@sbcglobal.net.
