Dogs don’t really need business cards, but they’re not Benji, a therapy dog that helps people have a good and brighter day.
Russel Teck, the owner of Benji, makes the cards of Benji and he prints them out.
The front business card of Benji says, “My name is Benji. I hope my visit has brightened your day.”
Benji has spent 5 years visiting people at nursing homes, local hospitals, and high-schools.
According to reports, Benji has visited over 1000 people and he is actually a local celebrity.
Teck, the owner of Benji, said, “Everybody just loves this dog, especially at the hospital.”
He added, “I hear his name being called from the second I walk in the front door to the second I leave. He’s known from the guards at the gate to the nurses on the seventh Floor.”
Teck said everyone knows Benji.
Benji has helped people so much, that they don’t forget him even years after his visits.
Teck said, “When I see [the hospital patients] maybe one or two years later at a Walmart or something, they’ll say, ‘I have his card hanging on my refrigerator.’ Or, ‘I have his card in my wallet.’”
Teck said Benji was not like this since the beginning.
Benji had anxiety when he was a puppy, and his parents did a lot of things to help him cope up with it.
Teck explained, “When he was a puppy he had a lot of anxiety, and we were trying to find him something to do. At first, I thought about agility, but my yard’s not big enough to have an agility course.”
Teck added, “I watch a lot of dog shows on TV and therapy dogs came up a couple of times, so I started doing research into it to see what’s involved. And I thought, ‘I’m going to try it.’”
The owners of Benji enrolled their pooch in obedience classes and therapy dog training.
Benji passed his Therapy Dogs International test on his first try and became a certified therapy dog in 2014.
Teck said the only problem with this job is when the one that they care about passes away.
Teck explained, “You get attached to a lot of people and when they pass away that’s the hard part.”
He added, “I try to take him to the funeral home for each one of them — the families always thank me for bringing him. It’s really touching.”
Teck goes with Benji when his pooch is helping out people in hospitals, schools, and other facilities.
Teck said everyone has a purpose in life and said his duty is to help people out.
Teck loves being called “Benji’s Dad” and has helped him become a new person.
Thanks for your service Benji and Teck, you guys make this world a better place!