[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 106 (Monday, July 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S9302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO MRS. PEARL SALOTTO

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge Mrs. 
Pearl Salotto of Warwick, Rhode Island for her dedicated work in 
establishing the ``Respect for Living Things Day'' in the state of 
Rhode Island. Mrs. Salotto has established a number of programs in 
Rhode Island including the D.J. Pet Assisted Therapy University 
Certificate Program, the D.J. Pet Assisted Therapy High School Program, 
and the D.J. Respect for Living Things Elementary School Program. Mr. 
President, I ask that Mrs. Salotto's op-ed on July 21st, 1999 in the 
Providence Journal be printed in the Record.
  The article follows:

                        [The Providence Journal]

                The Best Way To Remember DJ, Therapy Dog

                           (By Pearl Salotto)

       DJ, dog of joy, recently passed away peacefully within the 
     loving arms of her family. The smiling face of this big white 
     dog had become synonymous with professional Pet Assisted 
     Therapy (PAT), locally and nationally, because of her 
     enthusiasm for life and her unconditional love, because of 
     the countless people of all ages whose lives she touched, 
     because of the many programs as well as social-reform 
     initiatives that she inspired, because of the many dreams 
     that she helped turn into reality.
       Anyone who recognizes that pets and people are good for 
     each other can turn this moment of sadness into a celebration 
     of DJ's life and commit to carrying on her legacy, 
     recognizing that she did more than her part in bringing about 
     a healthier, friendlier, and more peaceful world simply by 
     being herself.
       DJ showed me, at a New York nursing home in 1998, how 
     residents could find a renewed joy of life through her loving 
     touch and thus inspired not only my university program but 
     also my vision that all universities should have PAT degree 
     programs so that ultimately all facilities could have 
     professional PAT as part of their treatment team.
       DJ showed me, in my granddaughter's first-grade classroom 
     in New York in 1991, how a dog's strolling up and down aisles 
     and interacting with children could open up their hearts and 
     minds to their responsibilities to pets, people and 
     themselves.
       DJ showed all of us the profound and life-changing impact 
     that her freely given love could have on Feinstein High 
     School students, giving them the ``heart-opening'' 
     opportunity to learn of the positive impact that animals can 
     have in all of our lives through their one-of-a-kind PAT 
     curriculum and the subsequent follow-up opportunity to share 
     their love with others through PAT Service Learning.
       DJ showed me from the first day of our experiences together 
     that the bond between the therapy pet and the professional is 
     the ethical foundation of this profession, protecting the pet 
     in the field and providing the example from which all else 
     flows.
       DJ and DJ-inspired programs have led to schoolchildren 
     writing and singing songs about respecting animals, other 
     people and themselves, Rhode Island Health Department 
     guidelines for pet therapy, an official state commission, 
     annual DJ Respect for Living Things Days on her birthday, May 
     8, several Rhode Island agencies having professional PAT 
     programs, the integration of PAT with Service Learning and 
     Windwalker Humane Coalition for Professional Pet Assisted 
     Therapy, among other programs.
       Won't you join my children and grandchildren, friends and 
     colleagues, elementary school students of Central Falls, 
     Woonsocket, Providence and Feinstein High School students, 
     and students of all ages who knew and loved DJ, in doing all 
     in our power through all our words and deeds to help this 
     magical profession earn its rightful place in health care, 
     education, social services, and society as a whole, 
     spearheaded over the past 13 years by the smiling face and 
     extended paw of a big white dog named DJ?

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