By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Angela Wood, left, of Darden and Frank Bologna, right, of Knoxville enjoy a visit from Molly, a therapy dog, and her owner Ron Leonard of Canines for Christ at the Memorial Foundation Hope Lodge of the American Cancer Society in Nashville. Wood’s husband Kevin and Bologna are staying at the lodge while undergoing cancer treatments.
NASHVILLE — The presence of Molly, a therapy dog, still amazes her owner, Ron Leonard. With her big brown eyes she looks at people and then waits for them to approach her, which is key if they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or an illness.
As Molly waits to be a friend to these people, they don’t hesitate to approach her, partly because she is wearing her Canines for Christ vest. Most pet her which she doesn’t just endure but enjoys, explained Leonard.
Leonard and Molly are always ready to respond to needs, he said.
After an 11-year-old girl was shot and died Aug. 9 in Hendersonville, Leonard e-mailed the girl’s school to offer a visit by Molly to the girl’s fellow students. Molly was a great help to students at the Fayetteville school nearly destroyed by a tornado in 2014, added Leonard.
“Schools are really in tune with the work of therapy dogs,” he noted.
Leonard, a Mission Service Corps missionary of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, and Molly, who was trained following Canines for Christ qualifications, also visit cancer patients every Tuesday at the Hope Lodge of the American Cancer Society in Nashville and regularly ministers to residents of an assisted living center and memory care unit.
“Everyone at both places looks forward to her visit,” explained Leonard.
Recently Molly completed her 1,300th visit as a therapy dog. In addition, she visits military veterans in hospitals and institutions and people in churches.
“People just love animals and if we can use them to share Christ then we should,” explained Leonard, whose ministry was to military vets until he met Molly. He felt called in 2011 to missionary work to minister to veterans, he said. Leonard is a retired sergeant in the U.S. Army.
The Leonards, who are members of Victory Baptist Church, Mount Juliet, had a dog at that time but she was too “skittish,” to be a therapy dog and then she became sick.
After their dog died, they adopted Molly, a pup who was 6 weeks old and who had been rescued from death on a freezing winter night along with her siblings.
Leonard saw something special in Molly and when she was 2 years old enrolled her in a basic obedience school. Then she met the qualifications of the ministry, Canines for Christ, based in Florida, to be a therapy dog.
Today, Molly has been recognized by Canines for Christ, which has 700 volunteers in 29 states and three countries, as ranking fourth in most visits in the nine year history of the ministry.
When Leonard speaks to churches with Molly, he often speaks about his military service and how it prepared him to help veterans, and then he tells about his ministry with Molly.
The statistics on veterans committing suicide are harrowing — 154 per week — but “when you get a therapy dog involved it almost goes down to 0,” said Leonard.
He also often tells children and youth how someone rescued Molly from death and how they can be rescued from death if they accept Jesus. He has seen a child come to him afterwards and say, “I get it. …
“People can understand that if a dog will love me that much, how much does Jesus love me?” observed Leonard.
He also hopes people will think of how, just like with Molly, they can “use their dog to witness.” Leonard is a certified Canines for Christ dog trainer.
“We’re dedicated to this full-time,” said Leonard.
For more information on Molly and her ministry, contact Leonard at inchristalone2004@yahoo.com or 615-319-4595.
