Dogs Making Hospital Rounds

Question: My mom is going into the hospital for a lengthy stay and hates the thought of not being able to see her dog. She begged me to ask her doctor if I could bring the dog in to see her in her hospital room. I’m afraid to ask. Is that even possible?

Answer: Believe it or not, your mom’s furry friend has a pretty good chance of being able to make a get well visit at the hospital. In fact, dogs are fast becoming new members of the medical team at hospitals in the region and throughout the country.

Over the years, plenty of research has shown the benefits of “pet therapy” for nursing home residents and children suffering from chronic and life threatening illnesses. As a result, it’s not uncommon to visit a senior care facility today and be greeted by the center’s dog, an aquarium in the lobby and a cat snoozing on the lap of a resident.

Studies show that blood pressure rates among humans are reduced when a friendly dog or cat enters the room and it goes even lower when people stroke or cuddle the pet. Researchers at UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, report that a short bedside visit with a therapy animal can ease anxiety levels by 24 percent in heart patients compared to a 10 percent drop when visited by a human volunteer.

People tend to smile and feel less stress and tense when “man’s best friend” enters the scene: And where best to reduce stress and anxiety but in an emergency room? That’s where you’ll find therapy dogs through Hershey Medical Center’s Pet Program coordinated by Cindy Wilson. “We’ve found the dogs offer a positive distraction in the emergency room, but you’ll also find them visiting patients in the ICU unit and throughout the entire hospital.” It’s not unusual for physicians to give her a call to “prescribe” a visit to a patient from one of the program’s therapy dogs. The program has become so popular among doctors that two of them actually volunteer with their own dogs.

Many hospitals throughout the country use therapy pets to promote the recuperation of their patients. It is more common for licensed therapy dogs to make patient visits with their owners who have attended training programs than having the patient’s pet come to visit.

But arrangements can be made for personal pet visits and, in your mother’s case, approach her physician and ask him or her to prescribe a recuperative in-room visit with her pet. The hospital will likely require that her dog is well groomed and verification from a veterinarian that the dog is up to date with vaccinations and healthy.

Besides the benefit of touch and positive emotional feelings that, in turn, strengthen the immune system; animal-assisted therapy can also make great gains in physical rehabilitation. One of Cindy Wilson’s favorite stories is watching a stroke patient being given a brush to groom a dog as a way for her to perform her physical therapy. She was much more motivated to reach and brush the dog rather than reach for a ball. It distracted her from the pain. “It’s so joyful to see how pets can touch a patient’s life,” exudes Wilson, “it’s not about me…I’m just at the other end of the leash.”

YOUR TURN TO SPREAD THE JOY

So for those of you who have a good natured pet and would like to spread the joy as a therapy pet volunteer visiting local hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and adult day centers here are some resources for you:

Contact Therapy Dogs International and they will identify a local dog evaluator for you and your pet to meet so they can determine whether or not your dog is ready for assisted pet therapy and what training is required.

Want to see a Youtube video on pet therapy?

Delta Society promoting the "Human-Animal Health Connection" is another great resource to find training in your area for you and your dog to become a volunteer

Also call your local hospital and ask for their Public Affairs Department to find out if they have a pet therapy volunteer program that you can join.

Credits: The photo is presented by Cape Fear Dog Training Club featuring one of their therapy dog hospital visits at Womack Hospital.

YOUR STORY

Please share your story as to how a pet helped you or a loved one recover from an illness. Send a photo, too! Or tell us about your volunteer story.