Baltimore, Maryland Therapy Dogs Make a Difference
Thanks to North County News for this article.
Therapy dogs bring joy to those in pain
By Bob AllenDr. Samuel Lumpkin, a retired physician, and his wife, Sandra, a speech pathologist, don’t bring stethoscopes or blood pressure wraps when they make rounds at Greater Baltimore Medical Center’s Acute Care for the Elderly Unit and the nearby Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care.
Instead, the White Hall couple bring their two beloved dogs, Gunner, a perky little 4-year-old poodle and Tucket, a big, laid-back 11-year-old Labrador retriever.Gunner and Tucket are therapy dogs trained and certified three years ago through a program called the Delta Society’s Pet Partners. The therapy they bring to patients recovering from, or in some cases, succumbing to serious illnesses isn’t measured in diastolic pressure or white blood cell counts.
It’s measured in smiles, laughter, caresses and moments of warmth and affection that are often a welcome respite from intense physical and emotional pain.
“It’s so rewarding just to see the almost spontaneous joy when someone sees the dogs,” Sandra Lumpkin, 59, said as she and her husband made their once-a-week rounds with Gunner and Tucket at the Gilchrist Center one recent afternoon.
“People relax, and as they pet the dogs they often start talking or reminiscing, and sometimes things come out that the staff didn’t know before,” said Lumpkin, who practices speech pathology at Ear Nose and Throat Associates, a GBMC-affiliated practice started by her husband 40 years ago.
“One lady had been almost nonverbal and her staff didn’t even know she could talk,” Lumpkin added. “As soon as we walked in, she said, ‘Oh, my gosh, look at the dogs!’ She was happy.”
One recent recipient of Tucket’s and Gunner’s attention was Lochearn resident Grace Butler, 76, who was a patient at the Gilchrist Center and had just come off dialysis as part of her treatment for diabetes and congestive heart failure.
“I was kind of restless this morning, but the dogs are soothing,” Butler said as she lay in bed, holding and petting Tucket. “This little one reminds me of my own dog that I had for quite a while.”
This is the sort of reaction the Lumpkins hope for when they make the rounds with their dogs. Study after study has shown what animal lovers already intuitively understand: Animals often bring out people’s best emotions and foster feelings of warmth, nurturing and affection.
For acutely ill hospital patients, a visit from a friendly, responsive dog or cat can provide a temporary diversion from pain.
“It’s been proven scientifically that it’s very relaxing and soothing to pet an animal,” said Tricia Ryan, volunteer supervisor at Gilchrist.
“It’s invaluable to have Gunner and Tucker here,” Ryan said. “The obvious benefit is it offers a distraction for patients and their families who are coping with a terminal illness. You can see people’s faces light up when they see Gunner and Tucker coming down the hall.”
The Lumpkins had their dogs trained and certified through National Capital Therapy Dogs, Inc., a nonprofit organization that coordinates training programs and sends teams of dogs and their owners to the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins Children’s House, Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Sheppard Pratt Health System and similar institutions in the Baltimore- Washington area, northern Virginia and Delaware.
National Capital Therapy Dogs Inc. is a regional affiliate of Delta Society Pet Partners, which has trained and certified about 9,000 pet-owner teams nationwide.
The National Capital Therapy Dogs certification program is thorough, and not every dog can pass muster.
For starters, the dog must be at least a year old. At the end of the training program, the dog must respond to basic commands and not bark or be startled by loud noises, strange smells or other distractions.
The Lumpkins are one of three sets of National Capital Therapy dog-owner teams that regularly visit Gilchrist.
At the request of a physician the Lumpkins encountered at Gilchrist, they also started making twice-a-month visits to GBMC’s Acute Care for the Elderly Unit shortly after it opened last year.
“We’re looking for more teams to visit the ACE Unit as well,” she said.
For the Lumpkins, bringing just a little bit of joy to the lives of people who need it is the emotional payoff.
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Terrific article. Therapy animals can make a huge difference in the lives of so many. Here is an article that discusses the benefits therapy animals have on senior citizens.
To read more about animal assisted therapy, check out http://www.gilbertguide.com/blog. Gilbert Guide is your one-stop shop for the best in long-term care information and services for seniors!
The Healing Touch of Animals
by Ami Icanberry
Where humans and traditional medicine sometimes fail, animals often succeed in cutting through the physical and emotional barriers that isolate certain people in our society. This is especially true for residents of nursing homes and those with Alzheimers and/or dementia. Studies have found that simply having an animal present or visiting a long-term care facility can provide multiple health benefits to residents. Some skilled nursing facility residents have shown increased communication, decreased anxiety, lower heart rates, and a decrease in depression following interactions with animals. Alzheimers patients who often experience behavior disorders such as agitation and aggression have exhibited fewer episodes of verbal outbursts and anxiety and increased positive socialization when a therapy dog was present.
Who are these special animals, and how does animal assisted therapy (AAT) work? Organizations like Delta Society provide animal therapy services to long-term care facilities for either volunteers or on-staff health care professionals to implement. Dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits and even cats owned either by a volunteer or the organization in question are used to provide these social, motivational and recreational opportunities for seniors. In addition, these animals offer health care professionals a therapeutic treatment tool to incorporate into specific patient treatment plans. Before considering instituting any AAT program, a facility should go through a site assessment to determine what types of AAT programs would be appropriate for a specific patient population.
The cost-effectiveness of an AAT approach can yield real clinical outcomes. The problem is too many health care providers are unaware of the tremendous healing potential of animals and lack the proper information and training to incorporate animals into their care and treatment plans.
Have a wonderful Boston Terrier, Lady you would be happy to have a job as a thereapy dog. At present she visit her mom at assisted living and her grandmother at a nursingn home and everyone loves to see Lady stroll in and say hello.
Kathleen