Therapy Dog Referred to Therapy After Absorbing Too Much Secondhand Trauma

Biscuit, a seven-year-old golden retriever certified as an emotional support animal at the Greenfield Counseling Center, has been referred for behavioral therapy after staff observed signs consistent with compassion fatigue, burnout, and what one veterinary behaviorist described as 'the unmistakable gaze of a creature that has heard too many people's problems.' 'Biscuit has been with us for five years,' said center director Dr. Claudia Holding. 'In that time, he has provided comfort to approximately two hundred patients across anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief specialties. He has absorbed thousands of hours of human distress. We believe he has reached his therapeutic capacity.' Signs of Biscuit's decline were first noted when he stopped approaching patients in the waiting room and instead began lying under the reception desk with what staff described as 'a thousand-yard stare.' 'He used to greet everyone with enthusiasm,' said receptionist Karen Intake. 'Now he walks in, looks at the appointment schedule, and sighs. Dogs shouldn't sigh with that much weariness. It's unsettling.' Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Louise Attachment has diagnosed Biscuit with what she terms 'vicarious emotional saturation.' Treatment includes reduced client contact, increased play time, and sessions with a therapy horse named Gerald who specializes in working with burned-out therapy animals. 'The irony is not lost on us,' said Dr. Holding. 'We are sending our therapy dog to therapy. But empathy has a cost, even for dogs. Especially for dogs, perhaps, because they can't set boundaries or say I think that's a good place to stop for today.' Biscuit has been placed on a reduced schedule. His former patients have been offered a stuffed golden retriever as a transitional object. Three of them have brought the stuffed dog to therapy sessions. Two have named it Biscuit.