SCOTT TOWNSHIP -- The Bloomsburg Psychological Center is a trauma therapy center which treats about 600 people each year from around the state. The center is known for its therapy dog program, which has been going on for about 20 years.
A golden retriever named Brewster worked at the center for about 10 years.
"He just had a way of making them feel comfortable. He had this thing he did where he would put his head between your knees or your legs because he wanted to be petted," co-owner Ronda Barto said.
Angie Hack of Jerseytown is a patient at Bloomsburg Psychological Center. She was nervous to go there, but Brewster made her feel better.
"He came right to me at the steps, wagging his tail and I was so at ease. I knew I could do this," Hack said.
Sadly, Brewster had liver cancer and passed away last month. When the center lost Brewster, there were some big paws to fill.
Trooper is a 12-week-old golden retriever. Angie Hack was devastated when Brewster passed away, so she contacted a friend from Virginia on Facebook, who breeds puppies. He donated Trooper to the center.
"I wanted basically to help other clients like Brewster helped me," Hack said.
Trooper is training to become a therapy dog so he can work at Bloomsburg Psychological Center. Pretty soon this little puppy will try and cheer up patients.
"When you think about clients, they struggle and they really have to persevere. So the name Trooper means extreme perseverance," Barto said.
The team hopes to make Trooper an official therapist by the end of this year.
