Tales of a gentle giant
Children's book highlights giving spirit of Bernese mountain dog
If Moritz, the 115-pound Bernese mountain dog, had an official title, it would be "ambassador."
Something about his dignified, calm manner conveys goodwill and friendly diplomatic relations.
Owner Barry Schieber of Bigfork has put those characteristics to use during the pair's visits with patients at Community Medical Center in Missoula, and the traits have inspired him to publish a book about those experiences.
And Moritz, now 5, is trying his fuzzy paw at writing and will publish his first book - a children's story about sharing special personality qualities with others -this fall, his owner says.
"He's just an ambassador of goodwill," Schieber says.
Schieber, a former investment adviser and now a yoga teacher, bought Moritz in 2000 while he was on a trip to Switzerland. Within a few weeks of returning to Montana, the pup stood out as calm and composed next to his excitable obedience-school classmates.
His owner also noticed people were eager to greet Moritz and would let down their guards around him, hugging him or dropping down to pet him.
"The way I put it," Schieber explains, "is they'd lose all their self consciousness."
The combination of Moritz's demeanor and his effect on people led Schieber to using Moritz as a therapy dog.
The pair took classes offered by Delta Society, a nonprofit organization that teaches pet-owner duos how to interact with people in hospitals or similar settings. Visits with animals help patients in many ways, including improving their moods and boosting confidence, according to the organization's Web site.
For about a year and a half, the pair made weekly visits to patients in Missoula.
Moritz didn't do tricks or hop in laps; instead, he was content to greet patients and lie quietly while they talked with Schieber.
"Moritz doesn't really have to do anything," Katie Mac Millen, who works for the hospital's activities program, says. "It's just that he's this big piece of life and a real gentle piece of life."
"Nose to Nose," which Schieber wrote after six months of visits and self-published in 2002, recounts some of his experiences with his canine ambassador.
For example, Schieber describes meeting a young boy who accidentally shot himself in the head. As the boy reacts enthusiastically to Moritz, Schieber questions whether or not he's able to handle witnessing such tragedies as the young boy's.
Other examples of meetings are tied together at the book's end, with Schieber saying he's learned much from Moritz's gift - being a calm, friendly comfort to others. He's a shy person, but Moritz truly has connected him to humanity, he writes.
After the initial 18 months of weekly visits, Schieber and Moritz cut back their schedules to occasional visits to Missoula but also traveled to other health-care facilities.
Moritz, it seemed, was losing interest. He was slower in approaching patients and hasn't been as engaged with them, Mac Millen and Schieber say. Schieber and Moritz now see Missoula patients every few months.
He has been focusing on writing a book, told from Moritz's perspective, about using personality qualities to benefit others. Schieber plans to self-publish that book, "A Gift to Share," this fall.
Schieber also hopes to put Moritz to work soon as an ambassador to the courtroom.
A child who has to testify in court might be soothed by Moritz's calm, furry presence and thus be more confident on the stand, he says. The practice of allowing dogs in the courtroom is unconventional, but he's working with a young local girl and her therapist who think Moritz would be useful when the girl testifies about being abused.
Whether it's through books or some kind of therapy work, Schieber plans to continue sharing Moritz's ambassador spirit with others.
"It would be such a waste to have him just for myself," he says.
For more information about Moritz and "Nose-to-Nose," visit www.nose-to-nose.com.
Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com.