Cherrie Goodwin and her cheerful friend Xena are offering their services to Wagga and surrounding communities. Photo: Supplied.
A new dog therapy business, Memorable Conversations, has begun offering Wagga residents the chance to spend time with two lovable canines, Xena and Poppy.
Owned and run by Cherrie Goodwin, the business hopes to provide community members who are feeling down or lonely the chance to open up, relax or even just have a conversation.
Ms Goodwin has offered the services at schools previously but said she has noticed more and more people in the community looking lonely or lost.
Ms Goodwin said that by providing dog therapy to more people, she hoped she could provide more joy to Wagga and its surrounding communities.
“For years, I’ve been going to schools and working with children with the dogs,” she said.
“It has been very rewarding for the children, and the dogs absolutely love it. But recently, I went down the main street, and I go in the shops, and I’ve noticed there are a lot of lonely people.
“The dogs will go up to them. I’ll start a conversation with them, and we’ll have a bit of a chat. You can just see the relief on some people.
“I decided to start offering Xena and Poppy’s services to more people, whether that’s people in their homes, out in a park or grabbing a coffee. We can have a chat, just catch up or even just pat the dogs.
“It just gives people the chance to feel loved and relax.”
Xena and Poppy are always up for a chat and a pat. Photo: Supplied.
Ms Goodwin said dogs naturally helped people feel more relaxed, which she had seen many times while attending schools and nursing homes.
She said she hoped to provide that same feeling to more people in a casual setting.
“Dogs release what you would call the love gene, oxytocin,” she said.
“Humans release that too with dogs, and it creates a feeling of comfort and connection that makes people feel calm.
“If we’re stressed, spending time with dogs helps us with confidence. Dogs are very good at detecting stress or people who are upset and need that extra bit of TLC.”
Ms Goodwin offers half-hour and hour-long sessions to individuals and groups.
“I am on Facebook and Instagram at the moment, or you can call me directly on my phone number, which is on both my pages,” she said.
“I can go to retirement homes. I can go to lifestyle homes. I can go out for coffee or to a park, wherever people feel most comfortable.
“I spread the love a bit further than the school. I want to give more back, more love and to support people who are feeling lonely. Because at the end of the day, no one wants to feel lonely.”
To book a session with Ms Goodwin, Xena and Poppy, visit their Facebook page or their Instagram page.
