Dr. Glickson and her eleven-year old, mixed breed rescue dog, Garlou, were accredited in 2011 as a registered Pet Partner Team (ID #88075) by The Delta Society. The Delta Society, later renamed "Pet Partners", is an international, non-profit organization that helps people live healthier and happier lives by incorporating therapy, service and companion animals into their lives. Garlou has retired as a Pet Partner, but still assists Dr. Glickson in her practice as a psychologist.
Everyone asks, "What does the dog do"? The answer is, "nothing specific" – what's important is not what she does, but how she is, with the people that she encounters. Her exceptionally friendly and intuitive temperament make her well-suited to deal with people of all types, including small children, the elderly and the physically or emotionally challenged of all ages. People love her, and she makes people feel loved.
Garlou and her siblings were rescued from the streets of Jackson, Tennessee, by Danielle Hardee, an attorney, and her dedicated team at Companion Pet Rescue.
Garlou and Dr. Glickson worked as a Pet Partner Team at Kingsway Apartments, a senior citizens' residence in Norwalk, Connecticut, at the Greater Bridgeport Community Mental Health Center, at a very impressive kindergarten class at Black Rock Elementary School in Bridgeport, and at the Norwalk Senior Center. They generated surprising energy and enthusiasm wherever they went, reactions that patients who visit Dr. Glickson's Norwalk office still experience.
Garlou's new companion, SoFi, is a four-year old Catahoula mix, a watchdog at heart. She was also rescued by Campanion Pet Rescue. SoFi has no formal training, but serves as an adjunct to Dr. Glickson's Norwalk practice by greeting patients, and drawing them out of themselves, into conversations with her and into conversations with Dr. Glickson and group members about her.
