Pet Therapy

GP Vanir Orion of NorKatz

                            "Orion"

Move Over Dogs

Here Come

The Wegies

Outside of the show ring, both Orion and

 Vajsco enjoy visiting their many friends

at several area nursing care facilities and

a local hospital.

Orion and Vajsco are members of the

 Lincoln Pet Partners

www.geocities.com/lincolnpetpartners

and are certified with

Delta Society International^®

http://www.deltasociety.org/ .

Delta Society^® is the leading international

resource for the human-animal bond.

To become visiting Pet Partner's, there

are many standards of practice which

must be obtained, for example animal

selection, screening, and health

requirements; training, evaluation, and

assessment to name a few.

The Norwegian Forest Cat

(Wegie) is among the most

people-oriented cats. (Of course

life style and personalities will

differ.) As with many breeds

the Wegies are, lively, playful,

and affectionate.

And, being a "Nature Cat", the

Wegie is extremely intelligent

and inventive to survive the harsh

winters of Norway. They can learn

to walk on a leash, to retrieve,

and more.

Orion  and Vajsco, who are also littermates, are leashed/harness trained. Orion

is a cat-on-the-go, wanting to visit as many people as he can find. He is all about

visit for a short while, say goodbye and move onto the next person waiting to

give him love and attention. As Orion walks down the hospital hallways he will

stop and hesitate at the doorway to a room. If it is empty we move on and if there is someone in the room, Orion hesitates so he can be picked up, as we enter

the room to say hello. The employees welcome Orion and he knows exactly

which employee enjoys him enough to let him jump up on their counter.

He brings many smiles as he spreads out, rolling around on the cold counter

top, just as if he owns the area.

At first glance many people mistake Orion for a dog. Much to their surprise they

come to realize Orion is in fact a cat who is visiting the patients/employees/visitors

at the hospital. A position normally held by dogs. In disbelief to see a cat walking

on a leash...most people just have to stop and chat with Orion. He is like a

walking magnet attracting so many people to him and he loves every minute.

Vajsco on the other hand would much rather visit smaller, quieter groups of

people. As they sit on a couch or chair, Vajsco will cuddle up to them, for a

nice long, gentle love session. He will lie next to his special person for quite

a long time up to 20-30 minutes, or as long as I want him to. Vajsco will stay

at the persons side, relaxing as he gets his loving attention. He will even put

his head down, close his eyes a bit, and rest. Residents are thrilled to have

the opportunity to enjoy Vajsco's unconditional love.