One family's greatest gift to their mom: a visit with a hospice dog

A loving touch

We all are familiar with animals visiting nursing homes and hospitals and schools, and now we have gotten to learn about canine reading programs. But do you know that animals play a very important role in hospice care?

When Coco and I lived in New York we were called upon to make special visits to people living in home hospice situations.

I remember vividly one time I was actually on vacation in Las Vegas and on the Strip with friends. My cell phone rang and it was the program Coco and I worked with asking if we could make a critical visit as soon as possible to a woman in hospice at her home. Her children had called explaining the only thing their mother asked for was a dog to visit. Nothing else could comfort her in her few remaining days.

I told them I was in Vegas but would be home in two days and I would call the family as soon as I returned. We had no idea if the visit would still be needed in two days, the woman’s health was that precarious.

Not every registered therapy pair is prepared to make these types of visits. In fact, at the time I was the only pair willing and able to visit at-home hospice and I was very proud that both my dog’s temperament and my own stamina allowed us to do this.

You are entering people’s lives at the most difficult time. You go to the home of people you have never met, bringing a dog into the situation and must be 100% certain of that dog’s behavior.

Should we put Coco on the bed or will she disrupt medical equipment or hurt the patient. Should we let her lick the person or will this compromise hygiene protocol. Should we interact with the family or concentrate on the person who needs us the most.

When doing these types of visits you quickly learn the dog, and you, are there as much for the family as the patient. Petting a dog can certainly be comforting, but so too can chatting with a new person, fresh conversation, someone not as emotionally involved with the situation at hand but someone who can observe and bring some positive energy to the scene.

When I returned from Vegas I called immediately and the woman’s children asked if I could come over right away. I put on Coco’s Delta Society vest, packed our supplies and grabbed a cab.

We visited every night after work for two weeks – the last two weeks of this beautiful woman’s life. Her children and I became quite close. They showed me photos of their mother as she looked not so long ago and it was quite evident how the ravages of her illness had taken hold.

They showed me photos of the dogs their mother had loved over the years and there were many Coco’s in the pack.

I commented one day that she had lovely hands and her daughter told me Mom was always proud of her hands and they made sure she had manicures, even now. While we take no photos during these types of visits, the family asked if they could take one photo of Mom petting Coco. I was honored.

Mom passed quietly fifteen minutes after our last visit. I walked in the door of my apartment to hear the phone ringing. I was told Mom passed peacefully and they believed having the dog there helped tremendously. While Mom never spoke, she smiled and we knew she was feeling less pain, breathing more evenly, thinking calmer thoughts and happy to hold on to my little Coco.

I remember it was right around Mother’s Day.

To be a successful Pet Partner therapy team, you have to love your dog enough to let them love others and others love them back.
 

Sue Grundfest is a licensed Team Evaluator for Delta Society, the national animal assisted therapy program. If you would like to see if you and your pet are suitable for therapy work, please contact Sue at coco@cocothelovedog.com

If you found this article useful, please read our other columns

Delta Society