FROSTI
The Canine Therapist

by Dr. Camelia Anne Bishop

     People are naturally drawn to the beauty of a sparkling white American Eskimo Dog. Few can resist the allure of touching its billowing soft coat. But the beauty of an Eskie, a shortened term of affection used by owners, is even more spectacular when one learns about the inner traits and characteristics of the breed. To give an example of how the typical Eskie displays the human qualities of intelligence, loyalty, sensitivity, and protectiveness is to tell the story of one Eskie, called "Frosti", and his service and devotion to Mary Jane McAdams.

       In 1999 Mary Jane was experiencing life circumstances which were slowly eroding her quality of life, and her health was failing. Her husband had left her a widow, and the burdens of age seemed to be encroaching upon her life. She had already had three mild strokes, and it seemed that her level of care would ultimately require placement in a supervised care facility.

        And then Frosti entered her life. What happened following his arrival is best described in Mary Jane's own words:

     My life was kind of in turmoil then. My little dog of 14 years had died. I had health problems and I wasn't doing too well, wasn't feeling too well. And when I got Frosti, he just filled the bill. I would spend time with him and it took care of some of my other problems. He was just a godsend to me.
       And a godsend he was. Within a matter of days, it was apparent that Mary Jane's life was changing. Out of a depressed and sleepless world, a woman previously dreading the advent of each day emerged looking forward to each new sunrise. As time progressed, her health continued to improve, and her medical doctor was pleased that she required fewer medications and those at minimum doses. Mary Jane attributes this change in her life to Frosti. She says, "I just don't know what I would do without him."

       Frosti is just doing his job. In fact, he has spent his whole life being a comfort to humans. He was whelped September 3, 1992 in a litter bred by Joanne Woolsey in Austin, Texas, and was named "Frostibear" when he joined the pack at La Estancia three months later. This happy little ball of white fluff soon became known simply as "Frosti." He learned obedience commands, earned his Canine Good Citizen Award, was OFA certified and CERF examined, and soon began to accompany me regularly to my therapy office where his outstanding qualifications as a 'therapist' emerged.
          It was immediately apparent that the mere appearance of this beautiful white dog put clients at ease from the moment they entered the office. The typical resistance of clients was minimized when Frosti was present, and the resultant openness led to faster healing and recovery. Issues of trust were all but nonexistent. Although the change his presence in the office seemed to effect in client behavior was impressive, the behavior he began to exhibit toward clients was even more remarkable.
          Often in client sessions, a client will become outwardly emotional and exhibit tears or other signs of distress. Usually Frosti would lie quietly on the floor beside my chair in the therapy room throughout the session, however, when he perceived distress in a client, he would alert and orient to the client. He would pause, listening and watching the client, as though determining the extent to which he needed to be involved. As though he perceived when the client was in need he would quietly walk over to the client and would either sit in front of the client and put a paw gently on the chair or lay his head in the client's lap. This act of perceived unconditional caring and concern seeemed to have a manganimous healing effect of the cleint.
          One time a client Frosti had known for a long time came in following an especially traumatic event. When she started sobbing uncontrollably, Frosti hopped onto her chair and began to lick the tears flooding down her face. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his fur, and had such a healing experience from the unconditional love and caring she felt from this canine therapist that she was able to pick up the pieces from her traumatic experience and go on with her life.
          Frosti was never trained to respond to the emotionality of clients. He started ministering to clients on his own without formal training or commands. This trait appears to be inherent in the American Eskimo Dog, making them invaluable in a therapy setting.
          And now Frosti has a full-time job.
          To find out more about Mary Jane's experience with Frosti, I drove to Corsicana to visit them at their home in the country. It was a sunny Texas winter day, so we sat at the picnic table in the back yard. Of course, Frosti, in typical Eskie fashion, positioned himself on the table so he could be in the big middle of whatever was going on
          Mary Jane began to tell me how Frosti is so attentive to her when she experiences pain or discomfort due to her physical problems. She explained, "If you have a pain, he sympathizes with you. If you have a pain in your leg, you rub your leg, and he's right there trying to help you. If I feel bad or my leg hurts or something, he comes right to me and when I start walking, he knows when there's a pain." It is obvious how comforted and cared for she feels when she continues, "You couldn't want anyone to be any more concerned with you than he is."
          An Eskie seems to know what you are feeling. He is right there to share that emotion with you, and burdens seem to lighten with that commiseration.
          As one grows older, concerns for one's safety and security tend to increase, especially for an elderly person living alone. Frosti watches over Mary Jane in a way that minimizes these fears. She says, "Nothing gets past him. I don't know what he hears sometimes in the night but he will listen. He doesn't miss a thing." Before his arrival, fears would keep her awake at night and insomnia was a major problem. She may still have normal concerns for her welfare, but with Frosti beside her she can go to sleep at night.
          His protectiveness of her would keep the boldest knight at bay. When someone comes to the door, he has a way of looking especially fierce, standing with all four feet planted, growling and baring his teeth. She says that people won't come in uninvited when they see those flashing teeth, but once Frosti knows it is OK with her, he will let them come in and even pet him.
          In spite of his protectiveness, he is the ultimate host when people are invited into their home. For example, Mary Jane says that when she hosts a church supper of Bible study group, Frosti likes all of her guests and even plays with them. She is pleased when "he comes in and speaks to each of them individually, lets each pet him and then lays down beside me."
          Shortly after Frosti came to live with Mary Jane, she and her son George, and daughter-in-law, Jane, planned to drive to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to attend a family wedding and were in a quandary about what to do with Frosti while they were gone. Learning that an Eskie believes that 'family' includes them, they decided to take Frosti with them. On that trip Frosti acted like he was a member of the family, winning the hearts of all he met with his friendliness and that typical smiling Eskie face. He was a perfect travel companion in the car and a gentleman at the motel, never whimpering or making a sound. The bond between Mary Jane and Frosti strengthened as a result of spending this quality time together, and George says they were a picture of contentment as they slept in the back seat snuggled together during the long drive to and from their destination.
          From that experience Mary Jane learned that Frosti loves to ride in a car, but she is hesitant to take him with her on daily errands because she fears someone will get him or he will get hurt when she would have to leave him in the car. He is such a part of her life that she does not want to risk something happening to him.
          When she does leave without him, Frosti lies down at the door and waits patiently for her to return. George relates how he has watched Frosti remain for hours in that one place by the door waiting for Mary Jane. Mary Jane adds, "He's right there waiting for me when I come in, no matter what time it is." For any who may still doubt that Frosti actually stays by the door during the entire time Mary Jane is gone, her daughter-in-law Jane reassured me that she has observed him lying there, not stretched out and sleeping as one would expect of an idle dog, but reclining in a wakeful, alert, watchful state, ever vigilant until Mary Jane returns.
          What a good feeling it is to be welcomed home by such a loyal Eskie!
          Throughout the day Frosti stays close to Mary Jane as she completes her day's activities. She describes how "He stays right at my feet; he's not six inches away from me, day or night." They relax together while watching TV, and at night he always sleeps with her. She says that regardless of how tired he might be and so sleepy he can't hold his head up, he will never go to bed without her. He stays with her while she completes her bath and nighttime routine, and then the minute she hits the bed, so does he.
          Once in bed, they talk. Now, anyone who doesn't know how an Eskie talks will think the use of the pronoun "they" in the previous sentence is an error. But an Eskie often develops a kind of sound production that seems to be mimicking the vocal communication of humans. Mary Jane describes this kind of conversation as "jabberish", but in listening to Frosti, one is led to think that it may be his attempt to bridge the language gap between him and Mary Jane, because it actually sounds like an attempt to vocalize human sounds and inflections. Sometimes she will echo his throaty vocalizations to him, and it seems that he tries even harder to 'talk' to her. Whether or not the words are understood, the message of togetherness in these 'conversations' is always heard.
          At night Mary Jane sometimes reads to Frosti, who appears to listen and attend to her. It's as though he senses that reading to him is important to Mary Jane, and he is willing to do whatever she needs for him to do. And it is important for a huuman to vocalize thoughts and feelings daily. So this nightly ritual of talking and reading to Frosti does serve a purpose in the maintenance of her emotional, and ultimately her physical, health. Again, Frosti is there for her when she needs him.
          When Frosti first arrived at Mary Jane's, he found a large cat appropriately named "Fluffy" in residence as a house pet. They became good friends, and the two of them would often sit on the couch with Mary Jane, dozing or watching TV. Recently, Fluffy crossed the "Rainbow Bridge", leaving a void in the lives of both Mary Jane and Frosti. Even though Mary Jane can tell by Frosti's behavior that he misses his friend, she feels comforted by his attentiveness when she feels the pangs of grief. His sensitivity to her emotional needs has helped her through yet another loss in her life.
          In hearing about the experiences that Mary Jane has had with Frosti, some people may dismiss the therapeutic effect attributed to Frosti's special abilities as anthropomorphic and claim the effect is due only to the companionship he provides. One has only to listen to Mary Jane describe Frosti as 'thoughtful' and hear her frequent use of the phrase 'he knows' to realize that she is experiencing something at a deeper level than just companionship with him. When she says, "I know he thinks...he thinks ahead of time," one realizes that there is more to the contribution that Frosti gives to this relationship than his mere presence. She trusts what she perceives to be his judgment in some decisions she has to make,and he is an active participant in this relationship.

          Because of Frosti's service and devotion to her, Mary Jane continues to live in her spacious country home where she raised her family and made all the memories of her adult life. She has the valued assistance of a neighbor to maintain the house and run errands, but she is able to live this independent life to which she has always been accustomed because of Frosti. She will celebrate her 81st birthday in March, so she does experience some of the health issues normally associated with aging, but they are made bearable because of Frosti's attentiveness to her and his actions that say "I care."

          Summing up her feelings about Frosti, Mary Jane said, "He's a wonderful friend, so lovable, and I'm just so thankful all the time for him." As she was voicing this sentiment, her voice began to waver with choked emotion, and her eyes became moist. Frosti, who had been sitting in the middle of the picnic table all this time, listening and observing throughout, arose and padded toward her. When he reached her, he extended his nose to her, nuzzling, checking to see how he could comfort her. Just a typical Eskie behavior. . .

This article was published in American Eskimo Dog Champions 1995-2001, Camino E.E. & Book Co./Jan Linzy, 2002.