March 7, 2008

MIAMI - Two rare cats are making a big impact on patients at one Florida hospital, where with their owners, they deliver therapy and smiles to some of America's Veterans of war.

Diesel and Charlie Girl are quite the pair. The three-year-olds even have their own strollers for Sunday trips with owners Bruce and Sue Muntz to the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Miami.

“People enjoy just touching (them), feeling the warmth of the animal on their lap,” said Sue Muntz.

"I think it's great," said Lillian Bethel, wife of a veteran.

So does everyone else that meets Diesel and Charlie Girl, two Maine Coons with large bodies and even larger hearts.

“… He's very gentle for being a large cat of like 21 pounds, and he could be jumping all over but he is calm he knows that he's got this gentleman over here,” said Bruce Muntz. “I'm just surprised that he's not giving him kisses on the chin yet.”

Diesel, who weighs in around 21 pounds, and his sister Charlie who weighs in at about 15 pounds, have been volunteering at the VA hospital for two years, bringing smiles to every patient they visit.

Considered the largest breed of domestic cats, Maine Coon cats are dubbed "gentle giants" for their laid-back nature and standout size.

“They are huge,” said patient John McDermott as he laughed. “I've never seen cats that big.”

Diesel and Charlie Girl have been in training since the day they were born. And they're two of the only registered therapy cats in South Florida.

The owners and animals are registered together as "Pet Partners" by the Delta Society of America. They've gone through several rounds of training and testing to make sure they're set to perform in a hospital setting.

“They tested Diesel first, then we had our test for hospital procedures, then it was a test of the two of us together how we work as a team,” said Bruce Muntz. “To make sure that they're going to be safe.”

The cats are trained to sit still and wear a harness at all times, and they're conditioned to never use their claws. All part of a job, Bruce said, that he and the cats take seriously.

“Yes he does, and he knows from the minute he walks in, he's calm, he's ready for pettin’,” said Bruce Muntz.

These cats are proving the power of pet therapy is making a difference for Veterans in Miami.

“They make people happy,” said McDermott.

The Delta Society has registered more than 7,000 dogs as therapy animals across the country.
But Diesel and Charlie are two of only about 200 cats on their list.

For more information on how you can begin the process of training your cat or dog, to be a therapy animal log onto deltasociety.org.

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Matt Van Hoven contributed to the print version of this story.