Pups provide therapy on a different level

By Lexi Ostrow
12/11/10

 "Any questions before I unleash her on you?" asked Claire Benway, a pet therapy volunteer and coordinator at the Franciscan Hospital for Children. "Yes, can you unleash her already?" one of the older female patients asked, and the other teens laughed.

The younger children down the hallway responded in much the same way as the teens. They all ran out shouting "Dinah, Dinah" when the pair walked by. Benway and her mixed breed, Dinah, volunteer to work with children with mental problems. The pair offers the children and teens, the ability and chance to interact with a therapy dog.

A therapy dog is a dog that visits the hospitals, nursing homes and even classrooms to bring companionship to those with whom they interact. Benway said that therapy dogs are not service dogs. It's is not their job to help the people they are working with, but they are, like Dinah, "a play dog." The goal of a therapy dog is to help bring companionship and connection to those that they visit.

The idea of pet therapy began in 1976 and is currently growing. Therapy Dogs International (TDI) is the oldest certification program for therapy dogs. Most therapy group dogs have been certified through TDI including Dinah. Dinah, also called "Diner" and "Dynamite" by the staff and children at the hospital, is a certified pet therapy dog. She's only two years old.

Therapy dogs can be any age. The dog's only requirement is that they love to play. The youngest therapy dogs can begin is at five months. That's when they will begin to learn commands to help with their visit. The commands can range from the simple, like "sit" and "stay" to extremely specific ones, like asking a dog to back up by slowly extending your leg in front of them.

Dinah and Benway belong to the therapy group Dog B.O.N.E.S., one of three groups around the Boston area. All of the programs visit hospitals, nursing homes and schools. Dog B.O.N.E.S., short for Dogs Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support, was founded by Jeanne Brouilette nine years ago out of her frustration she had as a member of other pet therapy groups. " When I began to think about what was missing in the experience and administration of each I can up with a nice list of things I could do better and so I put my money where my mouth was and started Dog B.O.N.E.S."

Dog B.O.N.E.S. mission is simple, Brouilette said, "to visit folks in all settings to some fun into their day. We also work with people to help improve their health, mobility and communication." Other Dog B.O.N.E.S. volunteers besides Benway and Dinah visit the hospital, including a big Newfoundland. Even a smaller dog in a wheelchair does its part. "We like to use him to visit with kids in wheelchairs. They really like it," said Benway.

Pet therapy visits are different based on the volunteer. The dogs do anything from playing outside to cuddling with the children. It all depends on the children's behavior and what they want. When visiting with elderly, the dogs tend to just cuddle with the person and be petted.

When Dinah visits, "We play it by ear based on what the kids want. If it's sunny out we play outside. If not, they do behavior tricks with her," Benway said. On this visit the sky was cloudy and Benway opted to stay inside with the children. The children were often verbal about who got to go when with Dinah. But, when Benway said they would leave if they would not be nice the children all straightened up and sat quietly waiting for their turn.

Studies have shown that the connection between therapy dogs and those they visit does increase the health and mental outlook of the people visited. TDI did a study from 1996 to 1998 to examine the connections. The study had 200 respondents from locations such as nursing homes, psychiatric units, hospice's and day schools.
The study found the top benefits for the patients were:
• positive mood alterations, 92 percent
• increased socialization
• verbalization 86 and 86.5 percent
• increased alertness, 80 percent

Staff members at Franciscan Hospital For Children attest that they see the benefits of the therapy dogs outlined by the study. Erin Kane works with the teenagers in the program and thinks the program is a good idea for all the children. "The kids really get excited when they (therapy dogs) come. It always puts them in a brighter space regardless of their mood that day," said Kane. While she spoke the older youngsters laughed and fed Dinah treats while the dog did tricks, seeming to confirm Kane's observation.

Some children bond better with the visiting dog than others. Benway said there was a little boy when Dinah first started that thought of Dinah as his best friend. The two began to spend so much time together the other children did not get as much time with her. Benway said that in the end they had to monitor the time the two spent together and separate them if Dinah did not get time with the other children, even if it upset the boy.

Kane also said that there were no specific individuals in the teen group who bonded too much with Dinah, but that she did notice some of the teens enjoy the visits more than others. A few who will play with the dog once and then return to what they had been doing previously. The youngsters who really bond with Dinah have even managed to teach her some new behaviors. Two of the tricks - roll over and high five- were taught to her by such children.

Therapy dogs bring things to the staff at the institutions they visit as well. The study showed that 43.2 percent of staff felt the visits increased morale and 23.3 percent said it helped communication with patients. Alyssa Mow, administration assistant in the unit, said she sees how all the children respond to the dog visits. She knew which kids behaved better so they could play with the dogs and which ones were always well behaved no matter what. "I think it's awesome because it engages the kids and even the quiet kids will be drawn to the animals to play," said Mow.

However, what was more interesting was the way Mow reacted to Dinah. When Dinah came in Mow quickly grabbed a bag from her drawer and came out from behind the desk. She gave Dinah a practice run of her behavior skills and then cuddled with her a bit before Dinah went to work.

With everything therapy dogs do, Benway said one of the best things they do is simply provide companionship to those who need it. Therapy dogs bring benefits for all: some cheer for the patients, playtime for the staff and even a job for an energetic dog. It provides a way for people to help just a little in the lives of those who need companionship.