Eight years ago, when they walked into a nursing home together for the first time, Kathy Iglar and her dog, Kalla, were brand new at pet therapy. “I wasn’t sure I even wanted to visit nursing homes,” said Iglar, who was caring for her mother, who’d just been diagnosed with dementia.
Then she and Kalla, a Labrador/terrier mix, walked into a room where an elderly woman was sitting in the dark, hooked up to oxygen and crying desperately. “Kalla just loves people,” Iglar said. “She walked up and just licked the tears off the lady’s face.”
The woman looked up. “You know, I just asked God, ‘Why do I even want to get up?’ and in walks this little girl,” she told Iglar.
That experience “is really what set me on this path,” said Iglar, who since 2019 has been the executive director of the nonprofit Pawsitive Hearts Pet Therapy and Rescue in Pennsylvania.
“I love to help people,” said Iglar, who is UGI’s manager of universal services, overseeing the utility’s low-income and outreach programs. And she’s always loved animals. So, when a co-worker at UGI decided to step away from her pet therapy nonprofit, Iglar and several friends decided to step in.
Because of COVID-19, Iglar has focused more on the rescue side of the organization, and the group has rehomed 325 cats and three dogs since January 2020. Iglar did a few virtual pet therapy sessions with local first grade classes, and now, with restrictions lifted, she’s been able to go back to visiting schools, libraries and nursing homes. Her group also works with the Berks County Courthouse to provide pet therapy for children who must testify.
The dogs provide a calming energy, she said, as well as joy. She has seen children in libraries reading aloud with her dog Chewy curled next to them and has watched nursing home residents who refused to exercise get moving because of Kalla. “I’ve had a couple different instances where residents wouldn’t walk or talk, and as soon as the dogs came in, you could see their faces light up,” said Iglar. “It’s incredible.”
UGI supports Pawsitive Hearts with its program of 16 hours of paid volunteer time for events that align with the utility’s mission and values, which include education. Iglar also recently held the nonprofit’s first large fundraiser—all with a goal of securing a facility that would allow it to house and rehome more pets.
And that first woman in the nursing home? Kalla and Iglar still visit her regularly. From being on hospice and expected to live only six months, she’s now thriving in an independent living facility.
“I love sharing my dogs, and I love getting cats into new homes,” said Iglar. “It definitely lowers my blood pressure, too. It’s something different to do, to get out and around people and make a difference. It sounds very cliched, but it’s the truth.”