My husband and I were sitting down at the waterfront on the kitsap 
peninsula, with our mal, Zann. She was lying peacefully basking in 
the sand and soaking up the suns rays. I was watching our puppy listen 
to the sounds around her and perking up to all the new salty smells. 
When from behind us approached a very frail blue eyed girl with her 
father looking awe struck about six feet behind her. She said nothing 
and sat down next to Zann and began to stroke her head very softly. Zann 
lavished her with kisses and just sat their calm and collected not at all 
her usual bouncy, all over you doggie -self.  The father finally approached 
us and said  his daughter has never done this before. You see his daughter 
was autistic and this was her first time to ever approach an animal, let 
alone sit next to complete strangers and stoke a puppy. She must have sat 
there for 20 minutes just gently petting a feeling Zanns fur all the while 
Zann just laid there soaking the attention up not once squirming or making 
a sudden movement. She seemed to almost be communicating with the child and 
the child to her.  It was beautiful to watch and I hope some day I can get 
my puppy to be a certified Therapist Dog as I know now this is what she wants 
to do...and she already had her fist patient.