AMESBURY — Ever since her Great Dane Emery became the Amesbury Senior Center’s official therapy dog, Courtney Hutchinson has adopted an open door policy.
“I have people coming all the time, knocking on my door, saying I just need some Emery love,” Hutchinson said.
Despite Emery’s imposing size, the 1-year-old pup is every bit the gentle giant, greeting everyone she comes across with a few sniffs before letting the patting commence.
Hutchinson, the Council on Aging’s elder mental health outreach team program manager, explained she first met Emery while volunteering for Northeast Canine, a local nonprofit that breeds, trains and raises Great Danes for local veterans and first responders.
“They said that she was the best service dog that they ever had, so people of course were lined up to get her,” Hutchinson said. “Unfortunately she came down with some health issues, and even though right now she’s OK, there’s a chance that 50/50 chance it could come back in the future.”
She said that the nonprofit did not feel it would be fair to donate Emery to a veteran and have them both bond only for something happened to her.
“So they asked me if I would put her into work with me here, because she is a dog that loves to work. She loves to please. She loves to help people. That’s when she is her happiest,” Hutchinson said.
Northeast Canine shared a Facebook post Monday reflecting gratitude for the new opportunity for Emery.
“Although this wasn’t the path for Emery we had envisioned, it is so perfect for her,” Northeast Canine’s post said.
Since then, Emery has been a source of joy with the Amesbury Senior Center with Hutchinson recalling a woman who came in depressed last week.
“She saw Emery and she lit up and she asked me if she could pat her and I said yes. She started to cry and said, you don’t know how much this just changed the entire trajectory of my life and I feel like I have hope again,” Hutchinson said.
She noted that as the mental health clinician at the Senior Center, Emery has been a huge help with her work.
“She does one on one work with me in my therapy practice, but she also will go into some of the groups that we have here and see people in a group setting,” Hutchinson said.
When she is not at the center, Emery returns with Hutchinson to their Salisbury home where she is joined by her furry friends including dwarf goats.
“She’s like a puppy at home, running and jumping, but she’s a really good girl,” Hutchinson said.