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At one point in his life, Greenbelt resident Allie Lee cared for six Saint Bernards, two German Shepherds, a 55-gallon fish tank and a rabbit named Frosty.

Lee always had a passion for animals—particularly dogs—and now he's sharing that with two groups that don't see many four-legged friends: the elderly and sick children.

Twice a month, Lee visits the HSC Pediatric Center and Children's National Medical Center, both in Washington, D.C.

"Even before the children see the dogs they get excited," said Sarah Carter, a HSC Certified therapeutic recreation specialist. "It's always at the end of the week, so we use it as an incentive and motivator for them."

Whether the children are there for rehab, surgery or a disability, Carter said the dogs are a great morale booster for them, as well as the family and staff.

"We really like it and I want to let everyone else know how wonderful the pet therapy is," Carter said.

Lee said his wife, Adele Lee, who died in 2008, was the driving force behind getting the therapy dogs to visit the centers.

"It took us a long time to get into that," Lee said. "They questioned the whole idea of having an animal come in, let alone around sick babies. Eventually my wife was able to sway them that it's needed, that it would help and that the dogs are well trained."

Darlene Chroniger of Davidsonville said her 8-year-old Sheltie, Robinson, was one of the first dogs to be included in the Children's Medical Center program.

"It's just the most rewarding thing," Chroniger said. "It brings so much joy and satisfaction to the kids."

When Lee is not at the hospitals or nursing homes, he is also a pet screener for the Pets On Wheels organization, where he conducts more than 170 free temperament tests for new dogs to visit nursing homes. He also serves as an American Kennel Club Certified Canine Good Citizen evaluator, which certifies dogs who have good temperament and behavior.

Lee became interested in dog training more than 40 years ago when his first dog had to be given away because of aggressiveness. He vowed from that day on that he would do all he could to prevent that from happening to himself and others.

"It hurt me. It hurt me deeply," he said. "But I promised myself after that day that I'd learn everything I can about dog training and animal behavior so that would never happen to me again."

Lee, who previously owned a used car dealership, opened Greenbelt Dog Training in 1989 and maintains about 10 classes a week. Classes range from beginner to expert groups like "the fly ball team" and "the canine freestyle dancers," where the dog and handler perform a routine to music.

Lee said that any dog, from as young as 3 months, can benefit from training. The oldest dog that Lee has worked with was 12 years old. The dog had recently moved from a farm in the country to a townhouse in the city.

"The saying ‘you can't teach old dogs new tricks' is referring to humans — specifically, human males," Lee said with a smile.

E-mail Jordan Attebury at jattebury@gazette.net.