Canine therapists aid children with special needs

At the Moore-Weis Children's Center in Austin, children get the chance to interact with dogs from pet therapy group Divine Canines. Rees Sexton, 3, feeds snacks to Miles with the help of speech therapist Julianna Dykes. Occupational therapist Juliana Padilla and Abigale Peña, 4, wait their turn.

Divine Canines, a Texas pet-therapy group, is helping children and adults with autism and other disabilities communicate and practice other skills. "It's amazing how dogs can light up anybody's face," said Judy Kjelland, who is part of the group along with her cocker spaniel, Smore. Austin American-Statesman (Texas)