Wantagh teen Reese McCarthy brings therapy dogs to seniors
Reese McCarthy, left, of Wantagh, with a therapy dog named Turbo and the pup's owner, Janice Barnikel, at the Glen Cove Senior Center. Credit: Tracey McCarthy
Reese McCarthy wants senior citizens to know how a furry friend can improve a ruff day.
The Wantagh teen and her family have raised three pups in recent years for the Guide Dog Foundation — one of which went on to assist a person with visual impairment, while the family adopted the other two. McCarthy recently took that experience a step further, delivering a dozen presentations to hundreds of local seniors on the benefits of working and therapy dogs.
McCarthy, a member of Girl Scout Troop 3305 in Wantagh, also arranged for a therapy dog to visit one assisted living facility every other week through the nonprofit Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
Reese McCarthy received the Gold Award, the highest achievement attainable within the Girl Scouts of the USA, for her presentations to hundreds of local seniors on the benefits of therapy dogs. Credit: Tracey McCarthy
“I love seeing them grow from a puppy to an adult,” said McCarthy, 18, who delivered the presentations as part of her Gold Award, the highest achievement attainable within the Girl Scouts of the USA. “It can be sad to give them back, but I know in the back of my mind it’s for a good cause, and even though I love them someone needs them more than me.”
McCarthy, who received her award in July, said her family would get the potential guide dogs at about 8 weeks old and teach them basic commands such as “sit” and “heel.” They also socialized the dogs by taking them to places such as grocery stores before returning them to the foundation for more formal training about a year and a half later, she said.
Her idea to educate seniors about working canines was inspired by an elderly relative who lives in a nursing home in Ireland. As part of her project "Unleashing Love," she gave 12 presentations at Amber Court Assisted Living Facility in Westbury and at the Glen Cove and Wantagh senior centers.
“The main reason for my project was to bring happiness and joy into the nursing homes,” said McCarthy, a 2026 graduate of Wantagh High School, now a freshman at Elon University in North Carolina. “If someone was there who thought they needed a guide, service or therapy dog, they now had the resources on how to get them.”
McCarthy was accompanied during her presentations by various therapy dogs, including an Airedale terrier named Henry Too, who joined her at Amber Court. Henry Too's owner, Jeffrey Pritzker of Bethpage, said he connected with McCarthy through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and "absolutely loved" her presentations.
"She was so well-spoken and everything was very well-researched," said Pritzker, who has continued to visit the residents there every other Thursday. "When Henry walks in, it's like their favorite grandchild walked in. They just light up."
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
