LITTLETON — If Elena Davis-Stenhouse had averted her eyes just a little bit while driving down Santa Fe Avenue on Christmas Eve 2003, she probably wouldn’t have seen the tiny, abused and abandoned dog on the side of the road, or stopped to rescue him and nurse him back to health.
And if that were the case, the real holiday miracle wouldn’t have happened.
Now a healthy, 85-pound bundle of joy, Moses has not only overcome his trauma, he is helping humans deal with their own problems. A registered animal-assisted therapy dog, the black Lab has become a regular at Santa Fe House, which is part of the Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network.
The 16-bed facility, just blocks from where Moses was found, helps residents, many of whom suffer from serious mental illness, transition back into society.
Those who wonder how a dog might help in that process need only witness one of Moses’ twice-monthly visits. As soon as he walks through the door, the pooch is the center of attention.
Davis-Stenhouse can barely get him into one of the facility’s social rooms before a steady stream of residents arrive.
As they pet and cuddle Moses, it’s clear there is a connection. One resident has been known to just lie down beside the dog for the entire time. Others, drawn out by workers or Davis-Stenhouse, begin to talk fondly of pets they have had in their lives.
“Sometimes they’ll just say things to the dog that they won’t say to people,” said Meryl Glickman, marketing director for the mental-health network.
Given his own troubled beginnings, Moses would seem an unlikely candidate for such an important undertaking, but for Davis-Stenhouse, that too is part of the extraordinary tale.
“It was amazing that I found him; it was amazing he survived,” she said. “I realized there’s a reason he’s here — he has a calling in life.
“Sometimes dogs who go through trauma are scared of people and they don’t trust, but he’s just the opposite. . . . He’s just in love with life.”
A clinical social worker, Davis-Stenhouse thought there should be a way to share Moses and his love with others who might need affection. After some Internet research, she contacted the American Humane Association in Englewood.
Last year, according to the AHA, the organization’s 200 animal-handler teams donated 30,000 hours of service, touching more than 120,000 lives in more than 50 facilities across the state. To become part of that crew, Davis-Stenhouse trained Moses for more than a year, and then the dog had to meet AHA standards.
In addition to a skills test on basic commands such as “sit” and “stay,” candidates must pass an aptitude exam.
“You have to go through a simulated visit,” Davis-Stenhouse said. “At one point, he had to walk through a crowded room where people are walking back and forth on both sides — there are people in wheelchairs, people in walkers, as if it were in a medical setting.
“He had to stay right by me the whole time. At one point they drop a bedpan to simulate a loud crash. It didn’t faze him at all; he didn’t even blink.”
After a short stint in the field, Moses took a sabbatical, allowing Davis-Stenhouse to start a family, but now he is back. Davis-Stenhouse said Moses, now just over 7 years old, has “a long career ahead of him.”
That prospect will undoubtedly make many, many people very, very happy.
“He’s just so nice to have around,” said Raul, a resident at Santa Fe House. “He just helps everyone relax.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
