Article from Central Kentucky News:
Lacey and Roxy are rock stars.
They have a swagger about them, prancing down the halls of the extended care unit of James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital, wagging their behinds. Several high-pitched greetings of “They’re here!” catch their ears. The two share a glutton for attention. Roxy even jumps into beds to lick faces.
Lacey and Roxy are certified pet therapy dogs through Love on a Leash, a central Kentucky organization with a local chapter of volunteers who visit hospitals, nursing homes, children’s facilities, centers for veterans — anywhere anyone may be in need of some uplifting affection.
“It is hard work, but it’s the best job I’ve ever had,” says Deb Rattcliffe, president of Central Kentucky Love on a Leash, headquartered in Lexington. “You always get so much more than you give.”
Donna Samuels, owner of Lacey, a seven-year veteran certified pet therapy dog, agrees.
“After Lacey comes home from seeing all her folks? She’ll sleep for a few hours. It actually takes quite a bit out of her,” Samuels says.
Door-to-door
Lacey walks into the rooms from which she detects a welcome, carrying her leash in her mouth, Samuels in tow. Lacey is a mature canine, a ginger-colored 10-year-old Golden Retriever going gray in the face, who connects with the elderly residents. Samuels only says, “You want to see the people?” at home, and Lacey takes herself to the shower in order to be bathed before her visits.
“I just love to see them. They perk you up,” says Nancy Phillips, who stops traffic coming out of the bingo hall to reach down from behind her walker and gently rub Lacey’s head. Samuels stands back to let Lacey do her thing.
“The residents light up when they see the dogs,” says Patsy Harmon, activity director. The unit serves the long-term health care needs of an aging population and houses some residents battling dimentia-related conditions, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
“It seems to spark their long-term memory. They recall being a child, having pets,” Harmon says. “I think it reminds them of love and compassion, feeling safe.”
Eileen Phillips parks her wheelchair in the hallway. Bel Babich, owner of Roxy, a Beagle, puts the dog in Phillips’ lap. “She reminds me of home,” Phillips says, rubbing the smooth top of Roxy’s head. Roxy soaks it up, leaning into Phillips chest.
A testimonial
Rosalinde Ruehs’ face lights up as the dogs enter her room. German-born and speaking with an accent, Ruehs tells of a dog shelter she ran in a township of New Jersey, where she lived before Harrodsburg. The dogs, she says, bring back good memories. Ruehs sometimes points out the window when she refers to the shelter she used to run. Good memories, she says, mostly rescue dogs.
Paul Ruehs, her husband, says his wife suffers from a Parkinson’s-like condition.
“Some days are better than others,” he says, showing off their wedding picture. He catches his wife’s glance and cocks his head a bit. “This is the first time I’ve been here when the dogs are visiting. They’ve pepped her up, quite a bit. This — it’s a good day,” he says, smiling.
“Dogs are perfect pets to me,” Rosalinde says. “I want to have so many. All the animals keep me young.”
Harmon later reports that Rosalinde’s therapist, who saw her after her visit with the dogs, said the difference in her session was remarkable.
“The therapist said Rosalinde completely flipped from the last session,” Harmon says.
Language all their own
Samuels is chairperson of the Pet Therapy Program for the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center Auxiliary, which also uses therapy dogs.
“The population we mostly see are those with dementia who can’t really express themselves,” says Lesli Petrie, clinical coordinator with the behavioral management unit at the hospital. “But when they see the dogs? It’s like they have a language all their own.”
Petrie has seen firsthand how therapy dogs can affect patients.
“We couldn’t get him to say a thing ...” Petrie says about a recent patient. “The assessment process, all of that questioning, and he never said a word. Two days later, we had a dog on the unit. He was talking up a storm.”
Petrie says when she and others saw the interaction, “We knew it was worth it. We don’t see that type of turnaround every single time, but we see them come out of their shell.” She says patients who hadn’t gotten up or walked around sometimes will follow the dogs when they leave.
She says the hospital has had pet therapy for a while now, but due to scheduling issues the visits were monthly. Then Cindy Ellsworth came along with Emma, Petrie says.
“Cindy and Emma go to our ER, our transitional care, comes out to our unit every Monday. It helps give us a better continuity of care of our patients.”
Meet Emma
Cindy Ellsworth knew something was special about her adopted dog, Emma. Probably born during the 2009 ice storm, Ellsworth says Emma was found eating trash on Roy Arnold Boulevard. After fostering, then adopting her, Emma almost died from Parvo. Now the two are a team.
Ellsworth snuck Emma in to visit a friend in the hospital. When the dog was out of the bag, Ellsworth was asked if they were with Love on a Leash.
“We were like, ‘Uh, sure,’ then I looked into it ... ,” Ellsworth says. Ellsworth holds Emma before a visit, asks her, "Emma? What do Rottweilers do?" and Emma snarls and growls. "Now, do therapy dog." Emma lays her head calmly on Ellsworth's shoulder. She's a ham, Ellsworth says.
The love of a dog
Thursday, Ellsworth meets up with other members of LOAL — Sally Baker and her English Setter, Jake, Megan Derringer and her Doberman, Josie, and Kristen Harper and Jessie, a Golden Retriever. They are making their regular visit to Sunrise Children’s Home, a non-profit agency that cares for children and youth who have fallen victim to abuse or neglect. Therapist Megan Gash is preparing to supervise the dogs' visit with the 6- to 9-year-old boys.
“Dogs don’t look at them like they are kids with problems ...” Gash explains.
The boys are split into groups, and many crowd around Jessie. They like to lay on her, owner Harper says.
“I’m not leading her, she’s leading me!” one boy says as he holds Jessie’s leash.
Gash says many times these boys have a history of abusing animals because of their own backgrounds in abusive homes. Channin Brown, the home’s director, says the dogs have helped teach the kids how to be appropriate.
“Sometimes, because of their pasts, the children take out their frustrations on something that’s even more defenseless than them,” Brown says. “It’s healing for them to be around the dogs, and be encouraged to treat them with love and respect. And the animals are accepting of them.”
Brown and Gash both say sometimes certain kids react so well to the visits, they will set up one-on-one therapy visits between that child and a dog.
Getting involved
Valli Harrison says her toy poodle, Toby, has passed the first round of testing to be certified and must complete two more visits before becoming an official therapy dog.
“The class was held in Lexington. There were several of us ...” Harrison says. She had to show Toby was leash-trained, and tells of the trainers putting him in situations such as being around other dogs, loud noises, a lot of action to test him out and see how he handled it.
“I think doing this kind of volunteer work is important. When you’re all alone in a nursing home, and so many of these people had pets in the past ...” Harrison says. “It gives them a little joy to think about their past.”
Ellsworth says anyone can get involved with the program as long as they complete the exams and required training hours. “When people try to overanalyze pet therapy. I tell them, ‘If it brings a smile to a person’s face, we’ve done our job.’”
A Love on a Leash team must complete 10 hours of supervised visits with another handler and a certified dog. Then the dogs are considered nationally certified.
“It’s something I truly feel lucky to be involved in,” Ellsworth says. She says Emma agrees.
SO YOU KNOW
Any dog may be a candidate to be a nationally certified therapy dog. To find out more,
go to
www.loalcky.com.
