Best Friends is a weekly feature designed to highlight a local resident and his or her pets. To suggest
someone for the series, contact Marissa Weiher, photographer, at photo@themonroetimes.com.
Mary Mason of Brodhead talks about her best friend Oreo, an 11-year-old English springer spaniel.
It started about 15 years ago when Mason and her husband, Gary, brought home a puppy, Molly, from a litter in Brooklyn after seeing an ad for them in the paper. Molly eventually had her own puppies, one of whom was Oreo, named after the color of her ears. Oreo is a registered therapy dog and travels to multiple facilities in the area, visiting children and the elderly.
"I feel like she's brought a lot of joy to people and brightens their day," Mason said.
It started about 15 years ago when Mason and her husband, Gary, brought home a puppy, Molly, from a litter in Brooklyn after seeing an ad for them in the paper. Molly eventually had her own puppies, one of whom was Oreo, named after the color of her ears. Oreo is a registered therapy dog and travels to multiple facilities in the area, visiting children and the elderly.
"I feel like she's brought a lot of joy to people and brightens their day," Mason said.
Describe Oreo's personality.
She's very loving, gentle and friendly. She has an excellent disposition. Her tail never quits wagging. I've never heard her growl. She's never shown any traits of aggression. You couldn't ask for a better therapy dog than her.
What do you and Oreo like to do together?
We enjoy going to all the facilities, especially the Brodhead library and the Monroe Public Library. I enjoy watching the children read to her, because it's like she's concentrating and is really listening. The kids really look forward to reading to her.
We brought her to Stoughton Sandhill Elementary, and she visited some students who have difficulty focusing and she just melted them down because she's so caring and loving.
We also take her to Aster Assisted Living every third Thursday of the month, and it's great to see the joy she brings to people's faces. If bringing her to visit people at the hospital can make someone forget their pain for just a brief moment, then I feel accomplished.
What has it been like having Oreo in your life?
She's been a real joy. She's our pride and joy. We enjoy taking her places and meeting people and showing them a few of her tricks. We did 20 weeks of training for her to be a therapy dog, and I wished I had done it when she was younger. We visited the Rock County Juvenile Center, and it was rewarding to see how well she did. Her and Toodles (another therapy dog who belongs to Cathy Maurer of Monroe) are the best of buds. I look forward to our therapy visits, and hopefully we can continue to do this for a while. She's worth a million bucks to us.
She's very loving, gentle and friendly. She has an excellent disposition. Her tail never quits wagging. I've never heard her growl. She's never shown any traits of aggression. You couldn't ask for a better therapy dog than her.
What do you and Oreo like to do together?
We enjoy going to all the facilities, especially the Brodhead library and the Monroe Public Library. I enjoy watching the children read to her, because it's like she's concentrating and is really listening. The kids really look forward to reading to her.
We brought her to Stoughton Sandhill Elementary, and she visited some students who have difficulty focusing and she just melted them down because she's so caring and loving.
We also take her to Aster Assisted Living every third Thursday of the month, and it's great to see the joy she brings to people's faces. If bringing her to visit people at the hospital can make someone forget their pain for just a brief moment, then I feel accomplished.
What has it been like having Oreo in your life?
She's been a real joy. She's our pride and joy. We enjoy taking her places and meeting people and showing them a few of her tricks. We did 20 weeks of training for her to be a therapy dog, and I wished I had done it when she was younger. We visited the Rock County Juvenile Center, and it was rewarding to see how well she did. Her and Toodles (another therapy dog who belongs to Cathy Maurer of Monroe) are the best of buds. I look forward to our therapy visits, and hopefully we can continue to do this for a while. She's worth a million bucks to us.