Therapy dogs “athlete’s best friends” during B.C. Winter Games
KAMLOOPS — As she prepares for her first Special Olympic basketball game, Kayla Polege lays on the floor with her arms wrapped around Skye, an Australian labradoodle therapy dog.
“He’s very friendly and he feel like my dog that I have at home. He lets me bury my face in him like my dog does, so that’s really nice,” noted Polege. “”I think dogs are magic. They have magic feel-better powers.”
The calming presence of the dogs put those sometimes anxious athletes at ease before they compete.
“It’s really good, especially after last night. Last night was really busy and it was really hard, so the dogs are very helpful and calming,” said Polege.