By Katie Kurylo, Communications Assistant
Think of a
time when you or a loved one were hospitalized or living in an assisted living
center. Certain images and feelings come to mind like pain and illness, long
hours, sleepless nights and stressful days.
Now
picture the gentle presence of animal.
Science is
proving what we here at Animal Friends have known all along: that animals can be
wonderful healers.
Animal
Friends’ Pet-Assisted Therapy program brings the comforting presence of pets to
residents of nursing homes, assisted living centers, veterans’ homes and
hospitals. The contact encourages communication, socialization, independent
movement for the immobile and memory stimulation. Since the program’s inception,
trained volunteers and their animal sidekicks have visited over 100,000
people.
One of the
many sites that Animal Friends’ volunteers visit is The Haven at North Hills.
This assisted living community is home to a variety of residents, all with
different needs. But, as Life Enrichment Director Missy Brown found out, all of
the residents enjoy when Animal Friends’ volunteers
visit.
“When the
visits go up on our event calendar, all of our residents look forward to it,”
said Brown. “The visits are wonderful and everyone is always very excited about
the animals.”
There was
no Pet-Assisted Therapy program when Brown started working at The Haven. “I
worked at Vincentian Nursing Home before I came to The Haven and they had a
wonderful pet program there. I saw how beneficial it was to the residents and
wanted to start something similar here,” she explains.
Brown has
seen the positive changes that the pet-assisted therapy can make in the lives of
the residents. She told the story of one particular resident that who not
participate in the social programs offered at Haven.
“He would barely come out
of his room, except to make a quick trip to our store to buy some candy,” Brown
said. After a few visits with a Pet-Assisted Therapy dog, however, the resident
has opened up, and is now more social with staff and comes to more programs.
“It really
improves our resident’s health. The animals make them laugh, make them smile and
remind them of their own pets. The animals really have a calming effect. It’s a
very positive experience for them,” Brown said.
Paul Lang,
62, a resident at Haven, says that the visits “are a nice change in my day.”
“I’m a dog
person and when you’re in an environment when you cannot keep a dog, it’s hard,”
Lang said. “The visits make a huge difference in my
day.”
Birdie, a
Border Collie, is one of Lang’s favorite visitors. “She loves being petted on
her belly. She’s a wonderful dog,” Lang said.
At Animal
Friends, we believe that there is a place for our furry companions everywhere,
and that places of healing are some of the places where we need them the most!
If you'd like to learn more about our Pet-Assisted Therapy program, click here!
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