My Friendly Pets

Jon Katz is a 61 year old man, who 9 years ago left the hustle and bustle of life as a big city journalist who lived in suburban New Jersey to move to a quiet, more sedate life in rural Washington County, New York. While his wife, Paula Span, a journalist herself and teacher at Columbia University, stays in New York City for the most part, Jon writes and enjoys time with his dogs and works as a very special volunteer for the Washington County Hospice. A social worker for the Hospice group came to one of Jon’s book readings and talked to him about the need for volunteers and the hope of bringing the dogs to the hospice facility to help the patients. Jon was intrigued by this and wanted to do something special with his dogs that went beyond a traditional “therapy dog”. Family and friends of Katz tried to discourage him from this effort, as he had been in the throngs of severe depression and they believed being around terminally ill patients would not be good for Katz. However, Katz found the experience rewarding, as he states, “So I went into training with Izzy, and later with my Lab Lenore, and was greatly rewarded by the experience” Katz says. “I found it to be very rich, intimate and loving.”

If the experience has meant so much to Katz, it has in many ways changed the lives of patients in the hospice facility. One gentleman, whose wife of 60 years recently passed away, said that Izzy brought sunshine to his wife in her ending days. In his newest book Katz shares his experiences. The book is titled “Izzy and Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me.” This sounds like it could be an inspirational read for friends and family and would make a great holiday gift.