Customer Reviews

Frankie, the Walk 'N Roll Therapy Dog Visits Libby's House

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Barbara Gail Techel offers the `feel good' true story of her dog, Frankie, in the book, Frankie, The Walk `n Roll Therapy Dog Visits Libby's House. After Frankie, a dachshund pup, suffers a spinal cord injury that leaves her paralyzed, she goes on to become a therapy dog. Frankie's visits to Libby's House, a senior assisted living facility, always provide a lift for the residents. This books not only lets children know that they can overcome obstacles, but also lets them see the benefits of helping others in their community. The illustrations by Victoria Kay Lieffring are a perfect complement to the story. I highly recommend this book.

Barb Techel writes and blogs and gives speaking presentations about her dear little dachsie, Frankie, the Walk 'n Roll Dog. Well, Barb's gone and done it again, folks! Her new book is titled Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Therapy Dog Visits Libby's House.

The story is appropriate, entertaining and educational for all ages. It's difficult to communicate how lavishly it's illustrated with unique and charming renderings from Victoria Kay Lieffring. These pictures capture in stylized detail the range of emotions Barb writes about as the residents of Libby's Place discover, enjoy and finally, love Frankie.

The one of Daniel staring into the eyes of a rapt Frankie on page 30 is just perfect: sweet and the absolute embodiment of a clear conduit of bonding between members of separate species who nevertheless have discovered that matchless common ground of shared experience. And that's what this touching book is about, that which makes us all fellow travelers on this earthly plane: our shared vulnerability, and the reality that when all else is stripped away, all we have is each other and the comfort we can humbly share.

I challenge anyone to read this book and come away with dry eyes and without a smile of recognition. And it's that juxtaposition of the sometimes difficult realities of life with the always hopeful knowledge that each of us brings something of value to the world that we can share with each other that makes this little story something that will stay with you long after you've closed the cover.

I urge you to get a copy of Frankie Visits Libby's House for yourself, and consider it as a rich but affordable gift for those you care about. Kids will understand the straightforward lesson that therapy animals can reach older folks whose worlds may have contracted from their previous horizons. Teens and young adults will see a potential opportunity for public and personal service beyond their daily worlds. Adults will appreciate the many subtle messages of hope and inspiration.

There's no one who can't find an important and hopeful message in this true story, handled with such respect and grace by Barb Techel. Personally, I found it the perfect antidote to the insincerity and cynicism of so much of today's mainstream "entertainment" in the form of so-called "reality shows."

Refreshingly, "Libby's House" shows us a world where people still care for each other and try to soothe hurts instead of exploiting them; where humans can count among their proudest moments those they spend reaching out with love to creatures of other species; and where we can all recognize that those gifts can and do come full circle back to us from small, brown doggies on wheels, with big, floppy velvet ears and eyes that glow with the deepest understanding and concern for every living thing.

Frankie's heart-warming story signifies the therapeutic bond created between animals, disabled individuals, and older adults, as Barbara respectfully reaches out to a population that goes unnoticed at times. Again, the author has done a brilliant job to include real lessons, diversity, and a positive sense of awareness all inside a children's book. Grandparents must read this story with their grandchildren. The talking points for a parent and child are so delicately presented during Frankie's Journey, you can't help but feel like your eyes have been opened to the important things in life. Bravo you two! You have written a story that needed to be told!
Melissa M. Williams, author of the Iggy the Iguana Series

When I think of all the animals that are destroyed because they have a disability, it saddens me--especially when I see the good that comes from using a disability to help others. That's the case with Frankie, the Walk `N Roll Therapy Dog. In Barbara Techel's new book, she tells how she and Frankie became a therapy team and the joy that visiting Libby's House brings to them and the residents. Libby's House is a senior facility where residents have Alzheimer's, dementia, or some physical challenge from aging.

Beautiful illustrations by Victoria Kay Lieffring enhance the telling of this story. Any child or adult will enjoy seeing Frankie perched in various places like the kitchen sink, her doggie car seat (where she serves as co-pilot), the teacher's desk, Daniel's lap, the dining room table (ready to help blow out the candles on 100-year-old Martha's birthday cake), and on the sofa or beside the wheelchair of an elderly resident. Each month, the folks at Libby's House eagerly await the arrival of Barbara and Frankie ready to pet the pooch who is paralyzed in her hind quarters.

I love the way Frankie tells her own story in a play-by-play narrative. You may forget that Frankie is not a human. She sure knows how to relate to people, and she's a really polite listener even when Edith tells about Schutzie, yet again! The lighthearted humor in this book will help children and adults understand that the elderly have a lot to offer younger generations--even when they are reminiscing and don't know what day it is!

This book provides an endearing glance to help us better appreciate the preciousness in all of life's stages. Highly recommended for family reading and classroom education.

Frankie is on a roll once again, only this time he and his owner, Barbara Techel, are a therapy team visiting Libby's House, a senior facility for residents with Alzheimer's and other dementia disorders. Frankie the Walk `n Roll Therapy Dog Visits Libby's House is a delightful children's book filled with vivid colorful illustrations.

Techel's first book, Frankie, the Rock `n Roll Dog tells the story of Frankie the dachshund's paralysis and how he got his wheels (a specially-designed canine wheelchair from Eddie's Wheels). In this second book, Barbara Techel, Frankie's owner and the author, writes about their experience learning about therapy dog teams, going through training and certification, and volunteering at Libby's House. The book is told through Frankie's eyes, and just as Frankie has trepidation about new experiences with senior residents in wheelchairs, book readers might have the same fears.

Frankie and Techel, or the Techel-Teckel (Teckel is a German nickname for the dachshund breed) team as they are sometimes called, befriend Daniel, a retired policeman and crime scene investigator. On one of their visits, Daniel is not in his room.

We quickly walk to his room and peek in. Something is different. I don't hear the radio playing. The stacks of books on the table are no longer there. The large stuffed yellow Labrador toy that is always on his bed, is gone too.

I look up to my mom and wonder, where could Daniel be today?

Just as we start to turn around, Patty, the activity director, comes into the room. Her eyes filled with tears. "I am sorry to have to tell you this," she said, "but Daniel died on Friday."

Techel's book is a delightful story as well as an introduction for young readers to profound concepts as dementia and death. With the story line being told through the eyes of a disabled dachshund, children are able to cope with difficult subjects introduced in a disarming manner.

To learn more about Frankie, visit his website, where Frankie has been chosen as the Official Mascot for National Disabled Pets Day.

Frankie the Walk 'N Roll dog is back with a new book. And, in fact, with a new title. She is now Frankie the Walk 'N Roll Therapy dog, and she narrates her experiences volunteering at Libby's House, a community-based senior residential facility near her home in Wisconsin.

Frankie had been visiting schools to teach children about dogs with disabilities since shortly after the accident that put her in a wheelchair, so she was used to acting as ambassador and used to being the center of attention (which is, of course, what almost all dachshunds demand to be.) But it took the teacher of one of the classes that she visited to get Frankie's mom, Barb, interested in moving Frankie into the world of therapy visits.

As you would guess, not every dog gets to just waltz into therapy work. There are tests to be passed. Frankie proved that she could be obedient on leash, that she would be okay with strangers petting her all over and that she would not be aggressive with other dogs she might encounter. And as a final test, she had to go to a nursing home and prove that she was all right be around people-sized wheelchairs. She passed all the tests with flying colors, and now she visits Libby's House once a week.

Frankie's made a lot of friends at Libby's House and brought a lot of encouragement to those who see that she hasn't let her disability slow her down.

Making friends at a senior facility carries its own risks, because those friends are more than usually likely to be taken from you. And Frankie lost one of her good friends at Libby's. But his last days were brighter than if she had never visited.

Frankie continues to amaze me. No, that's not true. With everything she's done since her accident, nothing she does from here on out will amaze me.

This new true story book -- the second in the series -- takes young readers on an inspiring journey... Frankie becomes a therapy dog and brings healing to old people. All children who have read the award winning first book relate to Frankie's courage. Now, they will be fascinated by his ability to open the hearts of old people and bring hope and friendship into their lives...a lovely illustrated story for children, parents and grandparents.

The book stands on its own, although reading the first book in the series adds to the experience.

An additional bonus would apply to children who will gain insight regarding family members and family friends when they grow old, and especially if they live in a nursing facility.

This wonderful story creatively introduces children to therapy dog service through the eyes of Frankie, a special dachshund with mobility impairment. But adversity does not stop Frankie and Barbara from making a positive difference in the lives of the elderly by bringing love and comfort to their assisted living facility. A superb job of expressing a realistic view of life and issues for the elderly in assisted living, as well as introducing the numerous contexts in which dogs and their humans can be of service as therapy dog teams. Valuable lessons of patience, listening, and understanding are demonstrated in a story children will easily relate to.

Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life: A Story of Love

Barbara Techel takes us beyond our human reasoning and limited sight by engaging our imaginations grounded in truth through the eyes of her little dog Frankie - who doesn't allow her physical challenges to limit her purpose or her gift of healing to all those who come into contact with her. Into Libby's House we roll with the wide-eyed innocence and charm only a little dog in wheels can claim with unabashed healing love for those who are broken in spirit and body.

~Dr. Kim Bloomer, veterinary naturopath, author and host of Animal Talk Naturally

Barbara Techel shares the heartwarming story about how one small dog with a huge heart brings joy, affection and comfort to nursing home residents. Frankie's exuberant spirit and refusal to let her disability slow her down are an inspiration to anyone facing challenges and provide hope that anything is possible.

Ingrid King, author of Buckley's Story: Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher