Renko, an extremely sweet Bernese Mountain Dog, was born on June 18, 2014. At the age of 12 weeks, he was allowed to go home to Schoten with his owners, Diane and Rudi. Upon arriving home, Renko was introduced to Andy, the son of Diane and Rudi. Andy has been severely disabled since birth and uses a wheelchair.
Renko and Andy clicked immediately. When Andy comes home from daycare in the evening, Renko is already waiting for him. Renko then sits on the sofa so that he is at Andy's eye level.
And one day a miracle happened! One that owners Diane and Rudi had never expected and will never forget. When Andy came home, Renko was already getting ready on the couch to greet Andy. And then it happened... Andy looked at Renko and Andy smiled at him! Andy reacted to Renko's presence! It was unbelievable. With this smile, Andy gave his parents one of the most beautiful moments of their lives. Diane and Rudi still get a lump in their throats when they tell this story.
Could deploying Renko help to make more contact with Andy? Diane and Rudi went to look for who they could turn to for this. They soon ended up at Toscanzahoeve and DierenActie vzw. It was proposed to train Renko as a passive therapy animal.
Renko as a passive therapy dog for Andy, that was exactly what they were looking for!
Together with therapy animal trainer Marijke, they went looking for which tasks Renko could perform for Andy.
Meanwhile, training is in full swing and new tasks are being learned. A fun activity for Diane and Rudi to be able to work together with Andy and Renko as a family.
Renko means the whole world to Diane and Rudi. He makes life a little more bearable for them, and the interaction between Andy and Renko is priceless!
A big hand, then, for Renko, passive therapy animal in training.
A dog as a therapist for people with Alzheimer's