I volunteer about 20 hours per week at Rancho Coastal Humane Society in Encinitas, Calif. (which happens to be the first solar-powered humane society in the U.S.). We have a very successful callback program that involves calling and/or emailing every adopter of a dog from our shelter at four to five days, six weeks and three months post-adoption. We give advice on shelter-dog transition and training issues and answer any questions the adopters may have.

Khan was terrified of people, dogs and especially children. But with a lot of patience, love and hard work, he passed a CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test on his second attempt. (He failed his first attempt because he wanted to greet all the strangers in the crowd test.) Then a friend said he might make a good therapy dog—he was sensitive to seniors, and had a slow but deliberate approach to greeting strangers.

As a volunteer for Dayton Dog Training Club in Moraine, Ohio, I teach advanced obedience and therapy-dog classes. I was pleased to see your recent article, and agree with the author’s observations. Many handlers are called, but few of their dogs are chosen. As part of the therapy-dog training class, I include a couple of field trips, one to the nearby Little Miami River, where the University of Dayton rowing club meets to practice.