Therapy on a leash!
Behavioral Medicine’s Pet Therapy Program was started back in the summer of 2002. At that time we were only using one local Pet Therapy group called Caring Canines and had visits 2-3 times per week on our Child Development Unit. Obviously, having Pet Therapy was a big hit with the kids so we decided that we needed to bring this program to the rest of our patients in the Behavioral Medicine Department which included our Geriatric Unit and the Adult unit.
We decided that we needed to grow this program and started researching the internet and sure enough found another group called Therapy Dogs International. TDI is supported by over 21,000 dog handler teams in the US and Canada. Their home base is in New Jersey. We decided to write to them and see if they could help us expand our Program. They published our “Doggie Want Ad” in their annual newsletter and all of a sudden we had these wonderful local people calling us wanting to bring their registered TDI therapy dogs to our Behavioral Medicine Units. Then, as you have it, word spread about our program and before we knew it we had people calling from another group called Dog Bones which is an acronym for Dogs Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support who also wanted to join our program. We now have approximately 30 dogs consistently visiting 4-5 times a week – sometimes as many as 8 times a week if you count the visits on weekends and evenings. We hardly have a day without a visiting therapy dog, and if we do the patients are sure to let us know about it.
When the dogs came in with their owners we noticed immediately that you would see a change in the patients. You’d see the patient’s smile! Even patients who have proclaimed that they were frightened of dogs end up joining the group. Sometimes they would start out just hanging at the door (in, but not in) and then eventually make their way to a chair and stay for the rest of the group. At times, even the timid patient would make his way to the floor and end up sitting with the dog’s head in their lap and just pat and caress the dog for the 30 minute visit. For a few minutes the patients can forget about their problems and the reasons why they have come to the hospital and just enjoy “unconditional love” from their furry therapist.
We know our patients love having the dogs visit. The dogs love all the attention they get from the patients and it’s not too shabby for the staff who always find a couple of minutes to break up a very busy and stressful day to greet these incredible pet therapists. It really is therapy on a leash for everyone.
We can now say that MetroWest Medical Center’s Behavioral Medicine Department has a full service Pet Therapy Program going strong on all our units. Thanks to the wonderful therapy dogs and their human volunteers from: Caring Canines, Therapy Dogs International and Dog Bones, the Behavioral Medicine Department at MetroWest Medical Center is enjoying a wonderful therapy dog program.
“Some have pedigrees, some have been adopted, but they all have one thing in common: They are very proud to be Therapy Dogs at MetroWest Medical Center and bring tail wagging love to everyone they visit.”
It’s a fact: MetroWest Medical Center has the best Pet Therapy Program in the area.
We decided that we needed to grow this program and started researching the internet and sure enough found another group called Therapy Dogs International. TDI is supported by over 21,000 dog handler teams in the US and Canada. Their home base is in New Jersey. We decided to write to them and see if they could help us expand our Program. They published our “Doggie Want Ad” in their annual newsletter and all of a sudden we had these wonderful local people calling us wanting to bring their registered TDI therapy dogs to our Behavioral Medicine Units. Then, as you have it, word spread about our program and before we knew it we had people calling from another group called Dog Bones which is an acronym for Dogs Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support who also wanted to join our program. We now have approximately 30 dogs consistently visiting 4-5 times a week – sometimes as many as 8 times a week if you count the visits on weekends and evenings. We hardly have a day without a visiting therapy dog, and if we do the patients are sure to let us know about it.
When the dogs came in with their owners we noticed immediately that you would see a change in the patients. You’d see the patient’s smile! Even patients who have proclaimed that they were frightened of dogs end up joining the group. Sometimes they would start out just hanging at the door (in, but not in) and then eventually make their way to a chair and stay for the rest of the group. At times, even the timid patient would make his way to the floor and end up sitting with the dog’s head in their lap and just pat and caress the dog for the 30 minute visit. For a few minutes the patients can forget about their problems and the reasons why they have come to the hospital and just enjoy “unconditional love” from their furry therapist.
We know our patients love having the dogs visit. The dogs love all the attention they get from the patients and it’s not too shabby for the staff who always find a couple of minutes to break up a very busy and stressful day to greet these incredible pet therapists. It really is therapy on a leash for everyone.
We can now say that MetroWest Medical Center’s Behavioral Medicine Department has a full service Pet Therapy Program going strong on all our units. Thanks to the wonderful therapy dogs and their human volunteers from: Caring Canines, Therapy Dogs International and Dog Bones, the Behavioral Medicine Department at MetroWest Medical Center is enjoying a wonderful therapy dog program.
“Some have pedigrees, some have been adopted, but they all have one thing in common: They are very proud to be Therapy Dogs at MetroWest Medical Center and bring tail wagging love to everyone they visit.”
It’s a fact: MetroWest Medical Center has the best Pet Therapy Program in the area.
