IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

'My dog needed a job': Pup, owner find purpose in nursing home

With her husband often away on long trips and her daughter off to college, Sue Halpern knew she needed to find something else to do with her life, something that would help banish the empty nest syndrome she and her dog Pransky were feeling acutely. “My dog needed a job,” Halpern said. “We both needed something new to do.”That “something” turned out to be a boon not only for Halpern an

With her husband often away on long trips and her daughter off to college, Sue Halpern knew she needed to find something else to do with her life, something that would help banish the empty nest syndrome she and her dog Pransky were feeling acutely.

“My dog needed a job,” Halpern said. “We both needed something new to do.”

That “something” turned out to be a boon not only for Halpern and her dog, but also the older folks they help as they travel from nursing home to nursing home.

Halpern has written about Pranksy’s transformation into a therapy dog in her new book, “A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home: Lessons in the Good Life from an Unlikely Teacher

NBC’s Jane Pauley reports on their progress.