Shasta’s career as a therapy dog began at home. Shasta was a natural at reading emotions with Barbara’s son, Davin.
“I noticed Shasta was great therapy for him,” said Barbara, a Massachusetts native who has lived in southern NJ the past 26 years. “I could sense that she was noticing when he needed her to be close. She was in tune with his feelings.”
This canine intuition is what has made Shasta such an incredible AIR therapy dog for the past 6 years. Sadly for AIR, Shasta will be retiring at the end of this school year, as she turns 13 years old.
While Shasta still really loves AIR visits, especially with college students, Barbara wanted to retire her so she can just enjoy time with family.
Shasta shares her home with Barbara’s husband and two sons, a Chihuahua mix, four chickens and a pot-bellied pig named Miss Piggy Pigalicious. Shasta loves hiking with Barbara, so there will be more time for that in retirement.
Barbara is a very active volunteer with the Cub and Boy Scouts in her town. She also is active with NAMI Mercer, where she facilitates a support group for parents of children with mental health concerns through the
Youth Mental Health Project's
Parent Support Network. She also helps run her school district's special education parent advisory group. Even though Shasta is retiring,
As a newly appointed Advisory Board member, Barbara plans to remain active with AIR and hopes to train another therapy dog in the future.