Kim Maxey with her dogs Rudee and Clifford (Photo by Jay Paul)
Since retiring from Chesterfield County Public Schools seven years ago, Kim Maxey has found a new way of giving back. Every week, she and her English cream golden retrievers volunteer in the community as a therapy dog team.
Maxey has had a golden retriever by her side for as long as she can remember. Her dog Jason was there when she married her husband, Ron, in 1985. Then there was Sandy as the couple raised their two daughters. Later, they got Scrappy, a rescue they nursed back to health and trained as their first therapy dog.
Today, Maxey’s most obedient pupils are Clifford and Rudee. The dogs went through basic obedience classes and the Canine Good Citizens program before passing a series of tests through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs to receive their national certification. They are also members of Caring Canines in Richmond and VCU’s Dogs on Call.
Maxey volunteers at numerous health care facilities including VCU, Bon Secours Richmond and Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, as well as at Chesterfield County Jail. Therapy dogs like Clifford and Rudee are natural listeners and comforters. These furry, four-legged therapists help reduce anxiety, regulate emotions and improve mood while providing a welcome distraction for people who are struggling.
As a teacher for 30 years, Maxey had to talk a lot in the classroom, but now she sits back and does the listening. “People tell me all kinds of things they wouldn’t mention unless my dog were here,” she says.
On a visit to Chesterfield County Jail, one inmate was particularly shy during his therapy session. Cajoled by other inmates, he finally went over to pet Clifford.
“Everything changed from that moment,” Maxey recalls. “Clifford was so excited to see him and just started wagging his tail. The gentleman started opening up, and we were able to talk and form a relationship we continue to this day.”
Maxey says people are comfortable around dogs because, unlike humans, they don’t judge. “They love you no matter what,” she says. “They don’t look at people differently, and they’re always happy to see you.”
Visits to Richmond’s health care facilities have allowed Maxey’s dogs to help patients when they need it most. “Clifford, who’s almost 9, has grown up with so many kids at the Reinhart Guest House,” she says. “They come to town for weeks at a time for the Richmond Hope Therapy Center, so we really get to know them. That’s been really fun.”
Clifford also sits with patients during their infusions at VCU Massey Cancer Center. “For some of the patients, he’s been there through their whole health care journey,” Maxey says. “We’ve even been part of the ‘ringing of the bell’ ceremony, signaling the end of their cancer treatment. It’s just so special.”
Clifford and Rudee seem to know instinctively when to be cheerleaders and when to lay low. Both have been part of difficult goodbyes for families at Bon Secours Community Hospice House and VCU’s palliative care program. Maxey says Rudee, who’s almost 3, was a natural-born therapy dog. He got certified at just 1 year old.
“For a special request through Dogs on Call at VCU, I brought Rudee,” Maxey recalls. “He walked around the room and sat with each member of the family, then finally walked over to the patient. He put his head up on the bed and gently licked the patient’s hand. The patient’s mother called to her son, ‘Rudee is telling you it’s OK to go now.’ It was unbelievable. I tear up every time I tell that story.”
Maxey says a stranger in a hospital elevator once reminded her that dog spelled backward is “God.”
“It’s really like a ministry,” she says. “Dogs know when something’s not quite right. It’s just fascinating to see.”
On another visit, a patient with Alzheimer’s immediately changed her demeanor when she saw Rudee. She walked with Maxey around the floor and introduced Rudee as her dog. “The caregiver told me the patient hadn’t been that calm in three days,” Maxey recalls.
Dogs also provide much-needed therapy for staff, especially health care workers who have been fighting a pandemic for two years.
“They’ve really been through it,” Maxey says. “On one of my visits, a staff member was having a bad day, but she lit up when she saw Rudee. She lay with him and was talking and talking, tuning everything else out. She just needed a moment away from the stress.”
One of Maxey’s missions is to bring even more dogs into pet therapy. Always the teacher, she volunteers with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs as a tester/observer to help other pet therapy teams become certified. Candidates meet Maxey or other ATD volunteers at pet-friendly businesses around town for their initial test followed by three or four observations. She says any kind of dog can become a good therapy dog as long as the dog is well-trained, has the right temperament and has a good partner.
“I love meeting new people and helping dogs progress through the testing process,” Maxey says. “Having one more therapy dog out there is a good thing. These dogs really have an impact on people.”
Along with Rudee and Clifford, Kim and Ron Maxey have five grandchildren and five grand-dogs. And they’re adding another family member this spring — a golden retriever puppy.
“We can’t wait to train him to become a therapy dog,” Maxey says. “These dogs have taken me to places I never would have gone. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
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