
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
There is a new staff member at Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. He has four paws, a silky golden coat and his name is Sunny.
Sunny, 9, is a registered therapy dog with the U.S. Animal Registry and works with Options clients.
About two years ago, Options’ staff starting talking about obtaining a therapy dog due to emerging research on the benefits to trauma victims. They discovered buying a therapy dog would be cost-prohibitive for the agency.
Sunny was Options Executive Director Jennifer Hecker’s dog. Hecker’s son was terrified of dogs when he was young because of traumatic experience when he was little. The family had a chow/German shepherd mix that helped him get over that fear. As that dog aged, the family looked for another easy-going pet to keep their older dog company. Sunny, a full-blood golden retriever, was a gift from family friends.
His innate loving, easy-going temperament led Hecker to think Sunny could be more than just a family pet.
“Golden retrievers want to give you love, and they want to get love, and that is pretty much all they want,” she said. “They are happy and calm and very social dogs.”
Therapy dogs are considered pets. They do not fall under the same protections as service animals or emotional support dogs. Those two categories of dogs are considered workers and serve a single person, whereas a therapy dog is a personal pet that has the disposition to bring comfort to others.
Sunny’s training started at home where he had to learn to get used to being around more people and the door bell ringing. The Options door has a doorbell.
In January, Sunny started coming into work and training there. Hecker stayed after to work to train Sunny. When the doorbell rang, Sunny would bark. If he didn’t bark, he would get a treat. Slowly, he became acclimated to the noises and people to the point he could be used with clients.

Hecker said the difference she has seen in survivors has been amazing.
“It is hard to talk about trauma you are experiencing. It is very personal information. It is embarrassing. It is shameful for some people. It is very triggering,” she said. “Even just recounting a traumatic experience actually engages the brain back into the trauma cycle, and so you physically experience a lot of the trauma responses you did when you originally experienced it for the first time, and it makes it very heard to talk about.”
Shortly after Sunny came to the office, Hecker met a survivor and when she would talk to Hecker, she would physically shake, you could hear her voice crack, she had a hard time recalling details and was tense.
The third time the two met, Hecker introduced her to Sunny.
“She was completely different. She could look me in the eye. She could talk to me without her voice cracking. The physical signs of trauma were gone,” Hecker said. “Of course, it was still difficult to talk about it. She still had those same emotions, but being able to channel that energy. … She just stroked the dog for an hour. He just patiently sat there, loving every minute of it — an hour of complete undivided petting.”
Hecker said that was when she really saw for herself what Sunny could do.
“Until you see it happen, you have no idea the power that a therapy animal can bring,” she said.

Sunny has a very natural way of approaching anyone in the office. He comes up to them and places his head in their lap and waits to be petted. He was never trained to do this. In fact, he did had to be trained to disengage, which is achieved by crossing your arms.
Sunny has a leash on hand, so if an advocate is working with a child, they can take Sunny for a walk. Hecker said it is a great way to break the ice with kids who may be a little nervous. Sunny can do a few tricks. He can shake hands, give you a high-five and lay down, which can be a fun way to introduce Sunny to kids.
Options tries to be sensitive to people who may have allergies or feel uncomfortable around dogs. Sunny has a bed and a comfy spot where he likes to lay in Hecker’s office, out of the way when he is not needed.
Sunny makes regular trips to the Options shelter. He takes on a comforting role and can aid to people who had to leave their pets behind when they left their abusive situations.
“They want an animal to bring them love and comfort or an animal to give love and comfort to,” Hecker said.
Sunny is just a regular fixture of the office now, and his presence has had a happy side effect. Sunny eases tensions in office and is happy to comfort Options employees and be petted when they have bad days.
Sunny greets a few staff members each morning with a toy. He cries until they take the toy and pet him.
“It’s hard to be grumpy when there is a dog who wants to give you a high-five or shake your hand,” Hecker said.
To seek help from Options call, 785-625-4202, or its 24-hour help line at 1-800-794-4624. Options’ Hays office is located at 2716 Plaza Ave., Hays, Ks 67601. Find more information on its website at http://help4abuse.org/.
All Options services are free, confidential and voluntary.