Mental Health Month with Merlot

Some of the kids I meet have seen scary things and been placed in unsafe situations. Some of them are forced to grow up too fast and they feel all alone. When they attend to our centre, they might be coming to talk about some of the most traumatic and intimate details of their lives. They may be experiencing a whole bunch  of mixed emotions.  It helps that, when the kids come to the Regina Children’s Justice Centre (RCJC), they get to meet me –  a calm and loving dog with a “resting lab face”.  You really  can see an instant change in both the child and their caregivers— I get to see smiles, I hear giggling, I see their bodies relax.  The atmosphere is lightened.  And people say that I have PAWS OF STRENGTH:

My Paws of Strength however, aren’t limited just to kids attending at RCJC.  I have heard that I have an effect on my immediate coworkers, members of the Regina Police Service, members of the judicial system, and members of my community as well.  Sometimes a patrol member who has attended at some tough calls during their shift needs a cuddle or feels better when they give me a good scratch behind the ears.  Sometimes I hear that someone who has had a bad day and they felt better looking at a message I posted on social media.  The humans have nicknamed me “Magical Merlot.”  I don’t know if I am magic, but if I have helped even one person through their journey, I think that my work has been a big success.   Helping big and little humans is truly my dream job.