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Dogs and kids in recovery together

The food offerings told much of the story: Dog treats in bowls near the picture windows, and a buffet for humans along the back wall.

Ian Linn (left) and brother Andrew greet Vivian, a terrier-pit bull mix, and counselor Michele Pich during the "Best Friends Bash" at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. (Yong Kim / Staff Photographer)
Ian Linn (left) and brother Andrew greet Vivian, a terrier-pit bull mix, and counselor Michele Pich during the "Best Friends Bash" at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. (Yong Kim / Staff Photographer)Read more

The food offerings told much of the story: Dog treats in bowls near the picture windows, and a buffet for humans along the back wall.

The third annual "Best Friends Bash" last month at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine brought together dogs and kids with at least a couple of things in common: All of the kids and most of the dogs have had craniofacial surgery, and they all enjoy being around each other.

"I like to meet people like us," Connor Loescher, 13, of Merchantville, said, glancing up from the handheld device he was using to Skype with a friend who couldn't be there in person. Dan Pfeiffer, 16, had just had his sixth procedure for a genetic condition, Saethre-Chotzen syndrome, in which the seams of the skull fuse too early during prenatal development.

"Just a spackle job," joked Dan, who lives in the East Torresdale section of Philadelphia and attended the first two Best Friends Bashes, a joint production of the veterinary school and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Socializing with other kids who understand what it's like to deal with craniofacial anomalies is huge, said Leanne Magee, a CHOP pediatric psychologist. The kids she treats often have a dozen or more surgeries, starting when they are infants and often continuing through adolescence.

But introducing the kids to animals with their own challenges "really helps the kids put things in perspective," she said. "When they hear about an animal going through surgery, it makes it a whole lot less scary."

Emma, a 10-year-old golden retriever who had a malignant tumor removed from her muzzle, proved a diversion for Alexis McGrantham, 19, of Howell, N.J., who has had 15 craniofacial surgeries and who will have up to 10 more.

As she eyed Emma, thoughts of surgery vanished for the moment.

"I wish we had one," Alexis told her mother, Kim.

Like most of the other canines in attendance, Emma is a therapy dog, chosen for her even temper and ease around kids, explained Alexander Reiter, chief of dentistry and oral surgery at the vet school.

With a seasoned emcee's presence, Reiter opened the bash by introducing the canine guests.

There was Bosco, a Rottweiler with a skull deformity; Darcy, a Portuguese water dog, and Jasmine, a Shetland sheepdog who both had surgery to remove craniofacial tumors; Lentil, a French bulldog who had surgery to repair a cleft palate; and Vivian, a Staffordshire terrier-pit bull mix who hasn't had surgery but who does have an interesting resumé.

Vivian was trained by two inmates at the city's Curran-Fromhold prison under a program called New Leash on Life. Upon "graduation" in January 2012, Vivian got her therapy dog accreditation and the inmates were paroled.

Dogs and kids aren't the only ones who benefit, said Magee, who said parents also get to connect with physicians and other parents to "see how things are going for other families. It's just a fascinating way to get everybody's guard down. The kids can just enjoy themselves."

So far, the idea hasn't spread beyond Penn and CHOP, but Reiter recently showed a video about the event to a convention of veterinary dentists in Belgium, and "the response was enormous," he said. He said he hoped it would some day be replicated not just nationally but worldwide.

"Everybody who goes to an event like this gets a better understanding about how we should walk through this world," he said. "With openness and kindness and an understanding that we need to help each other."

The bash was the brainchild of John Lewis, a veterinary dentist now in private practice, and Diana Sweeney, a CHOP patient liaison, with backing from Penn's Center for Human Appearance.

Both circulated through the crowd, Lewis praising the vet school and CHOP for their willingness to try "nontraditional approaches."

"Kids and dogs," Sweeney said. "It's healing."