“Unleashing Happiness” a monthly blog by Karen Lee Stevens

Director of Wellness Programs, Karen Lee Stevens tackles topics related to mental health and the human-animal bond, along with a healthy dose of humor (because let’s face it, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying!).

BLOG POST #29 – New Year, Old You!

January 10, 2025
by KAREN LEE STEVENS

This month’s blog post was written by the dedicated therapy dogs with Therapy Dogs of Santa Barbara. While their breeds and backgrounds vary, they all share a common credential: an honorary doctorate in Unconditional Love and Acceptance.

Humans are funny creatures. Every time the calendar flips to January, we notice the energy in the house shifts. Suddenly, there’s a lot of talk about “resolutions,” “turning over a new leaf,” and something called “getting in shape.” From what we can gather, this involves a lot of walking, but absolutely zero sniffing. Where’s the fun in that?!

From our vantage point down here at floor level, we have a unique perspective on your New Year’s traditions. While you’re busy crossing things off your to-do list and trying to reinvent yourselves, we’ve been having a communal meeting under the dining room table. We’ve decided to share our own canine manifesto for 2026.

First off, we need to talk about this “New You” business. It’s honestly a little confusing for us. When we walk into a room, we don’t smell a “New You.” We smell the same person we’ve loved since the day we met. We smell the person who drops popcorn during movie night, the person who knows the exact spot behind our ears to scratch, and the person whose heartbeat we sync up with during a cozy nap.

Why would we want a “New You”? The “Old You” is already our favorite person in the world. If your resolution involves being anyone other than yourself, we officially lodge a protest. Our professional opinion? You’re doing just fine!

That said, even therapy dogs can appreciate good “intentions.” We don’t really do “goals” (unless the goal is to finally reach the tennis ball under the couch), but we do care about how we show up for our jobs.

So, as we hear the familiar jingle of our leashes and feel the soft brush of our purple bandanas being adjusted for the day ahead, we’ve put our heads together to set a few heart-centered intentions:

🐾 Radical Presence at Schools:  When we participate in ARF! reading sessions with children, we plan to be 100% present. We won’t be thinking about the squirrel in the parking lot or what’s for dinner. We’re going to focus entirely on the sound of a child’s voice, and perhaps the high probability of a stray cracker in their backpack.

🐾 Ease Loneliness for Seniors:  In the senior living centers we visit, we’ve learned that sometimes the greatest gift we can offer is simply our affection. Our intention is to lean in closer or rest a head on a lap a little longer, offering a steady presence for anyone who needs to feel a bit more loved. It’s our way of saying, “I’m right here, you’re not alone, and we have all the time in the world for a good chin rub.”

🐾 Model Presence in Mindfulness Classes:  Even though humans technically lead these classes, we’ve been told that we’re actually the ones the kids focus on. So our intention is to show those tiny humans that “meditation” is just a fancy word for what we do best: Belly Breathing. When the teacher says “focus on your breath,” we’re going to take some really slow, deep breaths. We want to show kids that if they are busy noticing how their bellies rise and fall, they can’t possibly be busy worrying about tomorrow’s math test.

🐾 “Hold Space” in Jails and Mental Health Facilities:  Sometimes, we walk into rooms where the air feels heavy, and the walls feel thick. We’ve noticed that humans in these places often keep their hearts tucked away for safekeeping. Our intention for 2026 is to be the “Great Softeners.” We aren’t interested in why someone is there; we’re just interested in the person sitting right in front of us. We’re going to be extra generous with our paw-shakes and soulful eye gazing. We want to remind people that even in the toughest chapters of life, there is room for softness—and that everyone deserves a moment of peace, no strings attached.

So, there you have it — our New Year’s Intentions for 2026. Remember, you don’t need to be “new.” You just need to be YOU. We’ll be right beside you, wagging our tails, perfectly content with exactly who you are today.

Happy New Year, everyone! Now, if someone could just check under the couch for that ball…

Would you like to meet this month’s guest authors? Head on over to our website for the cutest pics of our pups! And, if you’d like to send a note to a human, email Karen at karen@therapydogssb.org.

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