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For years, dogs and their owners have wandered the halls of Yampa Valley Medical Center, Horizons and the Doak Walker Care Center lifting the spirits of patients. This year, the patients got a surprise. They were visited by a cat.

Pegi Simmerman enters the room with her pet Siamese, Yampa, and people's faces light up. At first, the organizers of Heeling Friends were worried about accepting a cat into the program because so many people have allergies to cats.

"But Yampa has been a huge hit," said Lynette Weaver, director of the Heeling Friends Pet Visitation Program. With 19 active pet-owner teams working in Steamboat, Yampa is the first and only cat.

Last fall, the group also accepted its first service dog, Mohawkie. The dog is a partner for Craig Kennedy, who uses a wheelchair.

The pet and owner teams arrive at the hospital, and word gets out quickly that they are in the building, Weaver said. "Getting a visit from a dog is really wonderful for people. It slows the heart rate. It puts a smile on their faces. They just feel better.

"And the staff gets just as much enjoyment out of it."

The Heeling Friends program started in 1999 when three women, including Weaver, and their three dogs started visiting patients at the old hospital on Park Street.

Since then, the group expanded, started offering training and became an affiliate of the Delta Society. The Delta Society is a national organization that sends dog-owner teams to places in crisis, such as Florida in the aftermath of the hurricanes.

Heeling Friends is holding a recruitment drive for new dog-owner teams next week.

Heeling Friends will hold a pre-screening for volunteers Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Community Center on 13th Street, next to the library. On Oct. 12, dogs who make the cut will take a Canine Good Citizen Test. Nominal fees will be charged for the screenings.

"We want to see how well (the dogs) behave," Weaver said. "They need to respond to obedience commands and walk on a loose lead."

Not every dog is good for the Heeling Friends program. They need to be friendly and non-aggressive. Dogs and their owners should enjoy being around people.

"Most dogs derive pleasure from greeting, meeting and snuggling with people," Weaver said. "After a while, they know what their jobs are. When the special vest goes on and the Heeling Friends collar and leash comes out, they get excited."

Heeling Friends asks for a two-year commitment from volunteers and two visits a month. Volunteers also can participate in the Reading Education Assistance Dogs Program.

Last year, four Heeling Friends teams participated in the READ Program at Soda Creek Elementary School.

Every week, dogs and their owners visited the school and worked one-on-one with students who needed more practice reading or a self-esteem boost, Weaver said.

The children read to the dogs.

"Most of these kids read below grade-level," Weaver said. "They read to the dogs, and the dogs don't judge them or correct them."

For more information about Heeling Friends, call 870-9037 or 871-0021.