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Therapist With A Cold Nose
By Barbara Yost
The Arizona Republic
Four years ago, as Joe Policastro was recovering from a stroke, he
discovered the motivational aspects of dogs.
Regaining his ability to walk, he realized that seeing his young
Doberman, Taz, waiting at the end of the driveway made the long
walk easier.
Now restored to health, Policastro wants to develop a program
in Pinal County that will take advantage of the therapeutic
benefits of dogs and other animals.
Anyone can learn how to train a dog for therapy work or just
to be a welcome pet, Policastro says.
"It takes dedication and establishing a bond with the dog,"
he says.
Policastro will share his training techniques and answer questions
about pet behavior at 2 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Apache Junction Public
Library, 1177 N. Idaho Road, just north of the City Hall Complex.
The class is free. Participants should come without their dogs.
For more information call 928-525-9885.
Pet owners will learn such basic commands as sit, stay, down
and come, demonstrated by Policastro and Taz. They will receive
handouts on pet-related Internet Web sites.
Policastro will also show how owners can perform massage therapy
on their pets and will answer questions about behavior problems.
He and wife Pat have been involved in the use of pets in therapy
ever since Pat began taking Taz along to her classroom of emotionally
disabled children at Taylor Junior High School in Apache Junction.
A sweet-natured male, with soft, soulful eyes, Taz senses when
the students are in emotional crisis and can soothe them with
the touch of a paw. His temperament is the result of genetics,
careful breeding and loving training, Policastro says, and has
been passed along to his son Roman.
Either Taz or Roman visits Pat's classroom every day of the
week, helping to calm troubled youngsters. When disturbed children
are sent to "time out" for acting up, Taz joins them to soothe
their emotions and alerts the teacher when they are calm enough
to return to class.
Taz is a model of good behavior at home too, following Policastro's
every command, rewarded by small treats and responding to hand
and voice signals.
The Policastros have four Dobermans, one Keeshound and four
cats - and two grown sons. They've been raising Dobermans for
20 years, ever since Pat brought one home as a surprise while
the Air Force couple were stationed in the Azores.
That first dog took one look at Policastro, he says, and decided
this was a human being he could love.
Policastro is a veteran teacher. The native of Queens, N.Y.
was a flight instructor in the Air Force and is now a professor
of business at Central Arizona College in Apache Junction.
His goal is to establish a program for therapy dogs like those
that train guide dogs for the blind and assistance dogs for
the physically disabled.
Although his Dobermans have competed and performed well in dog
shows, earning points for both conformation and obedience, Policastro
says the most important feature in a therapy dog is temperament.
Puppies selected for therapy work must demonstrate self-esteem
and confidence, a lack of aggression even when roughly handled,
sensitivity to human emotions and mellowness as well as alertness.
Taz, for one, is an intuitive dog who constantly guards his
owners and who has more than once spotted humans who might pose
a threat.
Such instincts make dogs ideal therapists, Policastro says,
though any animal, from a horse to a gerbil, can worm its way
into the human heart. People need contact with living creatures,
he says, and when friends and family are in short supply, animals
come to the rescue.
"Kids who come from bad backgrounds learn a lot from taking
care of animals," he says.
"The unconditional love and lack of judgment work wonders on
children and the old, many of whom today live far away from
their families and are especially in need of animal companions,"
Policastro says.
He would like to train seniors to visit nursing homes and retirement
centers with their pets.
"The population is getting older and the nuclear family is disintegrating,"
he says. "I believe there's a tremendous need."
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