The story below is from our March/April 2020 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
The joys of therapy dogs visiting patients does so much more than bring smiles; it also improves health and overall mentality.
Aria was not only a beloved dog and best buddy, but she performed an additional, nobler function than a pet. The little blonde Pomeranian happily bounced and danced around hospitals and nursing homes from Roanoke to Richmond, bringing strength, hope, happiness and smiles to people of all ages while they recovered from illness, surgery, or treatments.
Aria was a therapy dog, part of a growing legion of animals who help people heal. Or at least enjoy a glimmer of happiness in their final days.
There was James Thornhope, a bedridden World War II vet who survived the Bataan death march and still bore the scar of a Japanese bayonet strike on his forehead. Aria eagerly cuddled beneath his arm and lovingly licked his time-worn face. James’s world now consisted of bed space in the long-term care wing of a retirement facility. He loved this little dog and looked forward to her visits.
A couple times a month she’d stop by another such place and share a cup of tea, a chat and petting with a native of the Yorkshire Dales, a sprightly British dame with an encyclopedic memory and an avid follower of the royals.
Rowana Okun, who volunteers at English Meadows, a large regional retirement facility in Bedford, says residents look forward to visits by her and her three dogs, a Labradoodle, Pomeranian and Toy Poodle. She and her canines are part of a larger group, four to five individuals affiliated with the Bedford Humane Society, who make quarterly visits to English Meadows, Centra Health, Oakwood Manor, Carriage Hill and other retirement homes and hospitals.
“There is a big demand for us,” notes the retired nurse and horse enthusiast who relocated several years ago to Virginia from Pennsylvania following the death of her husband. “I love bringing joy and happiness to residents and patients and see all the smiles and happiness.”
A review of literature found that patients who are in settings like hospitals, nursing homes and psychiatric facilities have benefits from working with therapy animals that include improved mood, reductions in pain, improvements in heart rate and heart rate variability and just in general, better engagement with their medical care.
According to a story in VOA Science and News, Megan Hosey, a psychologist, has initiated a study to see if dogs improve patients’ well-being. The study will be completed in about two years, then she and the rest of the medical community will have data on the impact therapy dogs have on patients.
More than a dozen registered therapy dogs and their handlers are part of Mayo Clinic’s Caring Canines program. They make regular visits to various hospital departments and even make special visits on request. The animals are a welcome distraction and help reduce the stress and anxiety that can accompany hospital visits.
When it comes to health care, “going to the dogs” has become a plus, according to research reported to the American Heart Association. Researchers discovered that just a 12-minute visit with man’s best friend helped heart and lung function by lowering blood pressure, diminishing release of harmful hormones and decreasing anxiety among hospitalized heart failure patients. Benefits exceeded those that resulted from a visit with a human volunteer or from being left alone.
The dogs of 12 different breeds would lie on patients’ beds so patients could touch them while interacting the volunteer dog team. Researchers monitored patients’ hemodynamics, the collective system of measurement for blood volume, heart function and resistance of the blood vessels. They measured hemodynamic pressures just before the 12-minute intervention, eight minutes into the visit and four minutes after. Investigators also measured epinephrine and nonepinephrine levels at these three time points and administered an anxiety test before and after the visit.
Investigators found that anxiety levels dropped 24% for participants receiving a visit from the dog team. Scores for the human volunteer only group dropped 10% and an at-rest group’s score did not change.
Dogs were found to be a great comfort, making people feel happier, calmer and more loved, a significant factor when you are scared or not feeling well.
According to a story in National Geographic magazine (2012), these professional comforters brought solace to survivors of the Newtown massacre and other tragedies. Tim Hetzner, leader of the Lutheran Church Charities K9 Comfort Team, spent days visiting schools, churches, activity centers and homes in the community. They only went where they were invited and were careful to let people approach the dogs instead of vice versa, in case anyone was allergic to or afraid of animals.
The response to the dogs was overwhelmingly positive, their handlers said. A lot of times, the kids talked directly to the dogs. They served as counselors with fur, with excellent listening skills and demonstrated unconditional love.
Simply petting a dog decreases the level of stress hormones that regulate breathing lower the blood pressure, and releases oxytocin, a hormone related to bonding and affection both in dogs and humans.
Holly Adams, a Smith Mountain Lake resident, owns Mr. Milton, age seven, an amiable mixed-breed canine that is certified through a National Capitol Therapy Dog class. He not only shares his affection, soft fur and wet nose with hospitalized persons, but helps children learn to read in area schools’ Read To Me programs. Animals enrolled in the class must pass rigorous canine good citizenship requirements and the ability to heed direction and instructions from the handler, according to Adams.
“He has a very relaxed personality,” Adams says. “In schools, you need a really calm dog. It’s amazing how a dog makes people relax. A shy kid will lay on the floor and pet him. Within a short time, they want to read more, and really open up to me. He’s a super calming influence.”
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