TulsaPets Magazine July 2022

34 TulsaPets • July / August 2022 “What’s his name?” It’s a simple thing, right? Just a person asking the name of a dog in a forthright three-word sentence. No big deal. But for someone who has aphasia, it can be challenging or almost impossible to get words out. And when that person verbalizes something successfully, it’s a very big deal. That’s what the Cowboy Aphasia Camp is all about. Held annually since 2012 at the Oklahoma State University campus in Tulsa, Cowboy Aphasia Camp focuses on speech therapy for people who have aphasia. Part of that therapy involves a visit from teams of dogs and owners from Karing K9s. It gives campers the opportunity to experience how interac- tions with animals can help people regain language. “I’m a speech-language pathologist here in Tulsa, and I work with OSU’s Communication Sciences and Disor- ders Department to organize Cowboy Aphasia Camp,” says Karen Copeland. “Aphasia is the language disorder that happens to some people following a stroke or similar event. During camp, the local Karing K9s team joins us with their dogs for part of a day to get tongues and tails wagging. They’ve been helping since our first camp in 2012. This year’s camp was held in June, which was also Aphasia Awareness Month nationally and here in Oklahoma. ‘Pawsome’ volunteers are doing their part to help our campers with aphasia and the graduate students in the speech pathology program.“ Karing K9s Help Out at Cowboy Aphasia Camp by Rowena Mills Photos courtesy of OSU-Tulsa Communicative Sciences and Disorders Department Teaming Up Karing K9 dog Spirit (owned by Vickie Cupps) gives a greeting kiss to camper Sommer Phillips while student Madison LaValley waits to meet him during the Cowboy Aphasia Camp.