A Day in the Life of a Pet Therapy Team: Healing Licks
By Jolene Miklas
Animal Friends
scratching, stray, pet loss, litter, pet-friendly housing, abuse, grooming, fitness, education, feral, rabbits, massage, zoo, agility training, pet health, adoption, pit bulls, pet therapy, chewing, neuter, mature pets, multiple pets, playing, fear, spay/neuter, foster care, cats, working dog, kittens, rabies, anxiety, calming influence, noises, grief, shelters, chihuahua, habitat, diet, walking, safety, puppies, aggression, behavior, claws, bunnies, play therapy, vaccines, poop, dogs, digging, training, WQED pets, On a snowy day in January, a line of children sit in their wheelchairs and wait. The roads are getting slick…is he still coming? A serious-looking young boy clasps his hands in his lap and stares into the lobby of The Children’s Center, a look of expectation on his face.
Right on time, a tail can be seen through the window. The children’s faces crack into grins as Cheerio, a handsome white Irish Setter, strides through the door. His “mom,” Animal Friends volunteer Marcy Fenell, is in tow.
Young people from infancy to 21 years of age turn to The Children’s Institute for a variety of reasons. The staff and volunteers help kids recover from car accidents, head and spinal cord injuries or transplants, and offer post-surgery pain management and reconditioning. Marcy and Cheerio bring Animal Friends’ Pet-Assisted Therapy program to The Children’s Institute to offer a little bit of comfort and joy to the patients.
Charlene Horvath, Activities Coordinator for The Children’s Institute, knows that pet therapy is important for the children’s healing process. “Cheerio brings something out of the patients,” she explains. “If a patient doesn’t want to use his hand, Cheerio provides motivation. They’ll focus on him. Whatever they need to do in therapy, they’ll do for Cheerio, and he makes it fun for them.”
The joy that pet therapy inspires aids in the children’s recuperation, too. “That’s all they talk about,” Charlene says. “They love Cheerio.”
Today, a boy named Michael is especially happy to snuggle with Cheerio. Michael has been bravely recovering from a heart transplant for the past several months, and hasn’t been able to see his own pets, who are back home, four hours away from Pittsburgh.
“We have a cat and a dog at home and Michael misses them,” his mom, Michele Paesco, explains. “He has said that he’s afraid they’ll forget him. It’s so good for him to get to pet the dogs.”
Pet therapy doesn’t just help the children. It’s a bright spot in many of their parents’ days, too.
Liz Clauss, a volunteer at The Children’s Institute, recalls a 13-year-old boy who struggled to make his eyes focus. “I remember how excited the boy’s dad was when he saw his son’s eyes finally focus on the dog,” she says.
The children bask in Cheerio’s company, but soon, it’s time for treatment again. The children head off, and Cheerio snuggles into Marcy’s lap, content and ready to rest.
To learn more about Pet-Assisted Therapy, visit www.ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org.
Tag(s): calming influence, dogs, pet therapy, working dog
