Four-Pawed Therapy
Dec 2008
By Lisa T. Jung
Therapy Dogs Promote Health in Multiple Venues
Dogs are like vitamins for the soul. Exercise buddies, couch warmers and patient pals, they coax us up and out. Healers and jesters rolled into one, they alleviate anxiety, combat depression and always make us laugh.
Vera Hooper, 102, enjoys a visit with therapy dog Phoebe owned by Sumac Grant-Johnson (Hooper's granddaughter) of Lincolnville.
Throughout 30 years of research, psychological and medical studies have confirmed that sharing our lives with dogs can buffer the impact of stress, motivate us to exercise, increase levels of neurochemicals related to feelings of relaxation and happiness and mitigate loneliness. Dogs enhance our health—physically, mentally and emotionally—and may even increase longevity.
Why not share our four-pawed therapists to benefit others? Many Mainers have answered this call—to train and certify their dogs so that they can participate in pet therapy programs in a variety of venues, including hospitals, nursing homes, libraries and schools.
“Therapy dogs come in all shapes and sizes—it doesn’t matter if your dog is a purebred or a mixed breed. Temperament, tolerance and interest in the work are the most important factors that make a dog a good therapy dog,” said Sumac Grant-Johnson, trainer and owner of Wag It Training Center in Lincolnville. As a therapy dog handler, you need motivation, commitment and an understanding of the needs of the people you’re going to visit.”
“A calm, gentle disposition is the foundation for a good therapy dog. What we do in training enhances a dog’s natural temperament,” added Rebecca Henderson, trainer and owner of Renaissance Dogs in Holden.
“We know that petting a dog lowers [a person’s] blood pressure and stress levels,” said Grant-Johnson, who visits her 102-year-old grandmother at a nursing home with her therapy dog Phoebe, a Border Collie. “My grandmother always smiles and pats Phoebe, which often triggers her to tell me once again the story of Fanny, her Collie on the farm where she lived as a girl.
“Therapy dogs often visit people who have lost much of their independence, life skills and joys, or even family and friends. Dogs simply offer love; they help fill in the love gaps.”
So how do we go from love in our living room to spreading love at the nursing home? The first step is to pass the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. Items evaluated on the 10-part test include accepting a friendly stranger; sitting politely for petting; appearance and grooming; walking on a loose lead; walking through a crowd; sit and down on command and staying in place; coming when called; reaction to another dog; reaction to distraction; and supervised separation. Test details can be found on the AKC website, which also lists evaluators by state (see sidebar for details). A recent check showed 55 evaluators in Maine.
After the CGC test, dogs must pass a certification test through one of several therapy dog organizations, such as Delta Society Pet Partners Program, Therapy Dogs International, Inc. (TDI), Love on a Leash (LOAL), Therapy Dogs Incorporated or Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc. Certification from these organizations includes liability insurance. (See sidebar for details.)
“Most organizations require the CGC certification as a first step toward therapy dog certification,” said Henderson, a CGC evaluator. “It’s a good baseline for canine behavior. A basic obedience class will help prepare you and your dog for the test. And socialization is so important. Take your puppy or dog everywhere you can. Expose them to different people, other dogs and new environments as much as possible.
“A therapy dog should be prepared for the unexpected—loud noises, things dropping on the floor, strange smells, maneuvering around machinery or equipment, heavy-handed pats and exuberant hugs or even being ignored and remaining quiet in a new environment.”
Therapy dogs, however, are not service dogs. Therapy dog-and-handler team visits are strictly volunteer activities, based on interaction or merely the presence of the dog, rather than measurable tasks and goals. Service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks for an individual to offer assistance with disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. By law, only service dogs have the right to public access.
Some therapy dog organization tests evaluate specific things about how a dog would behave and react in certain environments and populations. For example, TDI uses the basic CGC test with specific additions, such as the requirement that dogs be tested around medical equipment—a wheelchair, crutches, cane or walker—to judge their reactions to healthcare equipment.
Another specific item is called “Leave-It.” According to TDI’s website, “The handler with the dog on a loose leash walks past food placed on the ground within a distance of three feet and, upon command, the dog should ignore the food,” demonstrating its confidence when exposed to major distractions.
Ignore food? Henderson’s yellow Labrador Retriever Atticus thought not when he followed his instincts and “ran to retrieve the pig’s ear” tossed on the floor by his first TDI test evaluator. An ex-shelter dog that won Henderson’s heart when she trained him at the Triple Crown Academy dog training school in Austin, Texas, Atticus was quick to rebound and earn his TDI certification. He and Henderson have a weekly gig at the public library in Bangor called the Listening Lab Program under the auspices of TDI’s Tail Wagging Tutors. Children age 5 and older sign up to read out loud to Atticus, who listens calmly and without judgment.
“The program is about getting kids involved in reading,” said Henderson. “Each kid spends about 20 minutes with Atticus, who creates a safe, nonjudgmental space. Atticus has no hidden agenda; he enjoys just being in the moment. And he’s so intuitive; he picks up on what the kids need. You can’t train for that.
“The kids talk to him and show him the pictures as they turn the pages. He’ll put his head in their laps and sometimes break into a snore, at which point I tap him to wake him up. Being with Atticus also exposes the children to a friendly dog. I’ve had kids who are leery of dogs and then end up kissing Atticus. When Atticus sees children, he lights up. It’s the perfect venue for him, which is important to know about your dog—and yourself—when you’re considering where to volunteer for therapy dog work.”
Understanding the facility and population you and your dog visit is an important consideration, agreed Grant-Johnson, who is an evaluator for the CGC test and for LOAL. “You need to be sure you not only understand the needs of clients you visit, but that you enjoy being around the clients. For example, it can be a joy to visit the elderly for some people, but sad for others.”
In addition to an evaluation, LOAL requires 10 hours of observed therapy dog visits before certification is complete. Robin Guist of Camden and her 15-month-old black Labrador Retriever Bodie started with Grant-Johnson’s puppy classes and recently completed their CGC test, LOAL evaluation and supervised visits for LOAL certification.
Guist and Bodie visit Quarry Hill, a senior community with a continuum of care; Anderson Inn, an assisted living facility; and the Courtyard at Quarry Hill, a facility for people with Alzheimer’s disease—all in the Camden/Rockland area.
“Bodie is exceptionally gentle; people have been drawn to her since she was a puppy,” said Guist. “On a recent visit, a person with Alzheimer’s disease who has not spoken for quite a while was petting Bodie’s head and clearly said ‘good doggie’ three times over. Seeing that connection was amazing.”
Also drawn to volunteering with the elderly, Heidi Shepard of Whitefield and her 6-year-old Standard Poodle Henry visit patients in a long-term nursing care unit at Togus Veterans Administration Hospital in Augusta.
“Since puppy-hood, Henry exhibited the right attitude and gregarious nature for therapy dog work,” Shepard said. She exposed Henry to “daily socialization with people, students and dogs of all sorts” at a school where she worked. He started obedience class when he was 5 months old. When he was 3 years old, Henry passed his CGC and TDI evaluations and was certified through TDI.
Shepard plans to take her younger Standard Poodle Rripper, who recently passed his CGC test, with Henry on his weekly Togus visits once he gets TDI certification.
“Recently, one of our favorite veterans passed away,” she said. “At our next weekly visit, several staff members asked if we would come to the service at the funeral home, which was open to having dogs. With his tail wagging, Henry offered comfort to everyone who needed him. A photo of Henry and Rripper was in the casket with Henry’s friend. As we left, Henry gave his pal a sniff, a smile and a wag goodbye.
“Henry is magical with people. To not share him with others would be selfish. I can’t imagine why he was put on earth if not to help others.”
Helping others and “giving back to the community” is a motivating factor for Rick Skoglund, a retired professional firefighter and co-owner with his wife, Martha, of Perry Greene Kennel in Waldoboro. Skoglund and Jefferson, his 4-year-old Leonberger, visit Miles Hospital in Damariscotta every week. His mixed-breed Cookie, a rescued shelter dog, and Chinook Madawaska accompany him on visits to Cove’s Edge, a skilled nursing facility on the Miles Hospital campus; Bartlett Woods, an assisted living center in Rockland; and the Lincoln Home, an assisted living community in Newcastle.
“I look for dogs with a gentle, friendly disposition. Socialization and confidence are key to a good therapy dog,” said Skoglund, who has certified his therapy dogs through both TDI and Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs. “If I have a puppy, it attends puppy classes with Marsha Lindsey in Edgecomb. We do our own obedience work, and the streets and pet-friendly stores and restaurants in Damariscotta are perfect for socialization and training.
“Many of the people we visit are separated from their pets or can no longer have a dog due to their circumstances, so being able to visit with a dog elicits smiles and fond memories. Recently I visited a patient who had not spoken for days. She took one look at Jefferson and became teary-eyed; then she smiled and began telling me about her dog at home. The staff was amazed.
“Dogs seem to sense who needs the most attention and often look for more affection from a person who might be feeling uncomfortable. We—my wife, the dogs, and I—always walk away with more than we came in with.”
Grant-Johnson has noticed an increased interest in therapy dogs and expects the movement will continue to grow. “Many assisted living facilities keep pets now,” she said. “Schools are adding reader-dog programs, and more hospitals are welcoming therapy dogs. As the baby-boomer population ages, we’re more connected to the needs and services that therapy dogs can fulfill and provide. We’re closer to the time we may be hoping a therapy dog team will visit us.”
