Watch a therapy dog with a client and you will observe the unspoken language between human and canine. A turn of the head, a swipe of the tail, a flick of a paw is sometimes all it takes to bring out a smile or relaxing sigh.
We know that therapy animals can help lessen stress, lower one’s blood pressure, increase awareness and improve demonstrative motor improvement.
But therapy animals can also simply put a smile on a face; the face of the patient or client, the face of family members, the face of staff, the face of owners.
Dogs don’t care if you are tall or short, dressed in glamorous clothes or a robe, live in a mansion or a double-bed hospital room.
The most talented therapy dogs will exude confidence and empathy. They are drawn to those who need them most and are extremely patient. Visit after visit there may be no interaction, but the dog will return each and every time as fresh as the first visit, until one day the door is unlocked. This is why we encourage visits to patients who may appear incapable of participating. A patient who appears to be sleeping may be resting his eyes or tuning out the world or dreaming of a better time in a better place. Or he may indeed be in another state of awareness. The touch of a dog can still be comforting and beneficial.
Having the animal as part of the overall care plan is what ensures a successful animal assisted program. Are we there to encourage speech, touch, motor development, relaxation, joy, physical interaction or emotional support? And no one function is more important than another. Often we don’t have a definitive plan and only over time understand more fully our purpose by listening and learning from those we interact with.
This is why the human member of the team is so critical – to lead her dog or cat or pig or rabbit into the situation where the animals can do what they do best.
When Coco was about eight years old she started slowing down. She could no longer twirl on her tippy toes or jump over hoops. She no longer wanted to slide down the slide or run through the tunnel. I asked the children we visited, who themselves were faced with challenges, if we should find new games or tricks that Coco could learn. One beautiful little girl, herself sightless, turned to us and said “Coco doesn’t have to DO anything. She just has to love us; that’s why she is the Love Dog.”
As Coco aged out of traditional therapy visits, we discovered her greatest talent of all. In addition to providing a physical outlet for the children, and an opportunity to talk with her and help her walk and play and all the myriad of other behaviors Coco assisted with, she taught the children the power of unconditional love. That one visit changed everything about how we approached being a therapy pair. After so many years in the field, I truly understood why we did what we did.
If you found this article of interest, you may enjoy reading these prior stories about therapy animals:
The girl who never spoke, said Coco
http://wwww.examiner.com/x-9149-Las-Vegas-Therapy-Dogs-Examiner~y2009m11d17-The-girl-who-never-spoke-said-Coco
Meet Mackenzie
http://wwww.examiner.com/x-9149-Las-Vegas-Therapy-Dogs-Examiner~y2009m8d27-Meet-Mackenzie--therapy-pooch-spreading-joy-one-paw-at-a-time
One dog, one child: integrating animal assisted therapy into an overall care plan
http://wwww.examiner.com/x-9149-Las-Vegas-Therapy-Dogs-Examiner~y2009m6d15-One-dog-one-child-How-animal-assisted-therapy-can-be-integrated-into-an-overall-care-plan
Hospice visiting
http://wwww.examiner.com/x-9149-Las-Vegas-Therapy-Dogs-Examiner~y2009m5d9-One-familys-greatest-gift-to-their-mom-a-visit-with-a-hospice-dog
Meet Lillie
http://wwww.examiner.com/x-9149-Las-Vegas-Therapy-Dogs-Examiner~y2009m5d28-Lille-Lille-Lille-is-that-Lille-Meet-a-most-extraordinary-animal-assisted-therapy-dog
Aliah visits Silver Ridge
http://wwww.examiner.com/x-9149-Las-Vegas-Therapy-Dogs-Examiner~y2009m10d25-The-power-of-touch-Aliah-visits-Silver-Ridge-Health-Care-Center
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