Unique Friendship Brings Pet Therapy

There are a lot of stories about pit bulls, and this story isn’t like those other ones. This story is about Peoples.

Meet Peoples

Peoples is a 2-year-old dog that loves hanging out in cars and listening to music. For the most part, he's pretty reserved. According to his card -- yes, he has a business card, Peoples also likes to smell grass with his big, black nose; chew on tennis balls; and run around fetching sticks.

It wasn't always like that.

For a long time, Peoples lived the life of many sidelined and maligned pit bulls. He was shot, and he spent his time wondering around the strict confines of a caged metal pen. There's still a scar on one of his paws because the injury wasn't properly attended to. When Snellville resident Dan Barnhill heard about him, he wasn't so sure.

"I'd seen and heard all the bad stuff," he said of pit bulls.

But, Barnhill said his son, who introduced him to Peoples, reminded him that a dog's aggression likely comes from his owners. That pit bulls are the kind of dogs that truly want to please their masters, hence how they end up fighting it out in the ring, and injuring dogs and people, Barnhill said.

"'It's about the people, not the dog,'" he recalled his son saying.

So, about 19 months ago Barnhill decided to take on the pit bull, to see what he could do with him. Experts say that dogs don't hold onto the past like humans, and for Peoples, that's probably a good thing. If he harbored thoughts of those dark days, it's quite possible that he could not wear that green vest he has.

The green vest acknowledges that Peoples is registered with Delta Society, a Washington-based organization that screens volunteers and their pets for visiting animal programs in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, schools and other facilities. Peoples is one of 83 pit bulls in the entire country registered with Delta Society, out of about 10,000 pet partner teams.

"He's a very sweet dog," said D'Ann Downey, founder and president of Compassionate Paws, a Rome, Ga. affiliate for Delta Society. "He would not have passed the Delta test if he had shown any kind of aggression."

Soon, Peoples will be on his way to SarahCare of Snellville, a local day care for the elderly. There he will meet with clients, helping them recall long-lost memories and calming their anxieties. Julie Wright, the activities coordinator there, said the center used to have a pet therapy program, but the rabbit died in December. When she heard about Peoples, it seemed he would make a great fit, she said.

"Most of the participants love dogs," Wright said. "That's one of their favorite animals."

Barnhill is hoping to get Peoples into a few other places around, and he's been in talks with a few locations. He's also hoping to rev up his new Atlanta Pet Partners organization to bring together other duos in metro Atlanta. He's already started a website dedicated to the effort.

Downey, of Compassionate Paws in Rome, said it can be difficult to get into some locations. The reason is that there are fears people associate with certain animals, and organizations are sometimes afraid of an insurance hassle should something go awry. That's why each pet-partner team has a $1 million liability insurance attached to them, she added.

"If you can get a foot in the door," Downey said, "it's just a matter of educating people on it."

The benefit to having dogs like Peoples visit schools, nursing homes, hospitals and the like is worth it. For her, it's awe-inspiring.

"I think there's something that's really profound about the way that we as people connect with animals," Downey said.

And, that connection is why this story is also about Dan Barnhill.

Meet the Handler

About 15 years, Dan Barnhill walked into a doctor's office for what should have been a regular in-and-out check-up. Turns out he was on his way to congestive heart failure. Doctors immediately sent him to the hospital.

He had quadruple bypass heart surgery, and an artery was taken out of his leg to assist. He says now that he was "at peace" and ready for whatever may come.

"I was fine until my son hugged me," he said. "And, then I started crying."

In the weeks he was in the hospital recovering, Barnhill would gather his electronic monitors and walk the hallways. He peered into rooms, and he didn't like what he saw. Day after day after day patients sat there alone; their only visitors being the nurse.

"They were just laying there," said Barnhill, 57. "It's like it put a boulder in my heart."

He wanted to one day do something about that. Even before he met Peoples, Barnhill -- who became disabled from his health condition -- would volunteer at metro Atlanta nonprofits. But, for a long time he was depressed. "Why me?" kicked in, and he didn't want to do anything or go anywhere.

After meeting Peoples the pit bull, it became clearer what Barnhill was supposed to be doing with the rest of his life. He remembered that feeling he had being in the hospital, though his wife Joyce was by his side. He says there's a him before the surgery, and a him after the surgery. And, the him after the surgery now gets it.

"I needed a companion, needed someone to hang around with," he said of Peoples. "He definitely chose me."

He wondered if Peoples could do pet therapy, and in November he and Peoples went through the rigorous training and evaluation to be a Delta Society dog.

He hopes for Peoples that he will be able to accomplish with others "what I first felt" -- calmness and joy.

His wife, Joyce is happy for them both.

"He just fits Danny," she said of Peoples. "Their just like little soul mates."

Dan Barnhill agrees. For both of them, it's like life has come full circle. Peoples is in a loving home, and Barnhill has the faithful pet companion he needed.

"It's all falling into place naturally," he said.