Mary had spent the morning with her knees curled to her chest and her face buried in her hands. She had shown little progress since a stroke had robbed her of mobility and independence and landed her in the nursing care facility. Despite encouragement from the physical therapists, she sat motionless.
When volunteers from Pets for Life arrived in her facility later in the day, Mary could do little but allow herself to be wheeled out by nurses to the dining area, where residents were watching a black Labrador mix fetch a ball for anyone who would toss it.
“Would you like to throw the ball?” a nurse noticed Mary, who was now peeking through her hands at the lab nosing quietly among the wheelchairs and walkers. “Yes,” Mary barely whispered, before surprising everyone by what she did next. Removing her hands from her face and her knees from her chest for the first time that day, Mary not only took the ball in her hand, but she also launched it overhand across the room.
For people like Mary who find themselves confined due to illness or trauma, animals can be a source of motivation and cheer, even healing.
It’s a process that Pets for Life volunteers have witnessed again and again.
A local organization committed to bringing the comforting and encouraging touch of animals to kids and adults who need it most, Pets for Life reaches out to individuals in a variety of settings across the metro area where pets normally are not allowed: in nursing homes, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, domestic violence shelters, homes for troubled youth, correctional centers, and hospice.
The organization began in 1984 after Kansas Citians and forward-thinkers William and Harriett Snyder watched a report on television’s 60 Minutes about the healing effect of pets on people in England. With seed money from the Snyders, help from area veterinarian Dan Hecker, and countless volunteers through the years, Pets for Life has made over 500,000 visits to people in need since its inception.
“We can bring a part of normal, everyday life to people who have lost that part,” says Judy Thomasson, a Pets for Life volunteer who has spent the last ten years visiting residents of the Villa St. Francis nursing home with her Golden Retrievers Charlie and Bella. In the presence of an animal, elderly patients often remember “the life they had, the people they knew, and the fun they had. They remember how things used to be when they were part of the mainstream.”
On a recent visit to Villa St. Francis, Pets for Life President Donna Amato and Vice President Joe Sanches asked residents if they’d like to meet their dogs—Roxy, a bullmastiff, and Peaches, a collie.
“I used to have a bullmastiff,” reminisced one elderly gentleman to Amato. “His name was Bear.”
“She’s beautiful, and she feels beautiful,” said another woman to Sanches as she lovingly stroked Peaches’ fur.
One man, slumped in a wheelchair facing a wall in his room, seemed to be nearly asleep — until he saw Peaches in the doorway. “How old is she?” he asked, suddenly alert and reaching out to scratch the collie’s ear.
“Our residents really look forward to these visits,” says Theresa Schwendemann, Villa St. Francis nurse and Staff Development Director. “So many of them had their own pets before they came here.” She watches and then laughs as Jim and Wendy Manning’s Golden Retriever, Duke, balances a dog treat on his nose outside her nurses’ station. “It’s a joy.”
Facility staff report time and again that a visit with an animal brings out the best in personalities: a resident who is socially withdrawn may come out to join in the fun, another who generally complains begins to speak positively during and after the visits. Patients who are reluctant to move their bodies in rehab will scoot across a room in a wheelchair or reach out a hand to pet a dog.
Effects of animals on Alzheimer’s patients in particular seem striking: those who speak predominantly gibberish to caregivers will often communicate coherently with an animal. “Although some of these patients have forgotten many things, they’ll remember the dogs’ names, or they’ll even remember to put out water for the dogs before they come,” says Amato.
The elderly aren’t the only ones, however, who find comfort in man’s best friend. Troubled children, adults suffering with mental illness, and even victims of domestic violence are often apt to trust animals before anyone else.
A sullen teenager, made even more guarded by domestic abuse and neglect, will soften and begin to participate in a group when the pets arrive. “Without these dogs we would have no other way to reach some of these kids,” says Amato, who also volunteers at Marillac Center for children. “But the dogs seem to know who needs them most, and they’ll seek out that person. You’ll hear kids say ‘the dog picked me!’ and instantly you’ve got a bridge, a connection.”
Alexis Martin and her dog Molly have visited patients at the University of Kansas Hospital since 2006. Often patients confide more in the dogs than they do in the people around them. “One woman told Molly all about how she was going to start eating better and exercising.”
But the notion that pets contribute making human life healthier is more than just a feel-good story; rather, it’s documented in scientific fact says Mary Buford, Pets for Life Program Director. “Studies show that when people pet animals they release what we call ‘happy’ hormones-ones that relieve stress and make us feel happier.” Buford cites a study by the American Heart Association noting that even a short visit with an animal lowered heart patients’ anxiety, stress, and heart and lung pressure.
And while their effect on our vital signs is measurable, animals seem to renew our spirits in a way that can’t be quantified. Just what is it about pets that we love so much?
“I think it’s that pets don’t judge,” says Martin, who has seen her dog Molly unfazed
by medical apparatus, hospital smells, or
patients’ missing teeth. “Also, pets live in the moment, and that allows the people around them to live in the moment. The dog isn’t going to ask you to take medication, do an exercise, or give you instructions.” Fellow volunteer Thomasson echoes that sentiment: “These dogs have no strings attached, no motive. Just tails wagging.”
Pets for Life therapy animals, which have also included cats, birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, and even a potbellied pig in the past—must meet age, behavioral, and training criteria before they are put to work. Dogs must be at least one year old and all animals must have a gentle, laid back temperament as well as pass the training provided by the organization. Leashes for site-visits are a must.
Volunteers swear that—on some inexplicable level—their dogs just “get it” when it comes to the job. “It’s just amazing to see the dogs understand that they go to work,” says Martin, who admits that, at home, Molly digs holes, chases squirrels, and barks at other dogs just like any other red-blooded canine.
But at a Pets for Life visit, Molly calmly enters the facility, greets other therapy dogs briefly, then walks single-file down the hall. “The animals know it’s time to work,” says Amato, who notes that the work has fringe benefits. “The dogs get a lot of love back,” she assures.
Since the canines are the main attraction at visits, Pets for Life volunteers are used to playing second fiddle to their animal companions. “It’s about the dogs, not us,” laughs Sanches, who then talks more seriously about the rewards of being a volunteer. “Some mornings I don’t feel like getting up and going. But as soon as we walk through the doors with the dogs . . . it’s all worth it.”
In 2009 alone Pets for Life spread comfort and encouragement with over 100,000 visits to disadvantaged individuals. The organization also offers several programs for school-age children: R.E.A.D. encourages literacy by allowing kids to read to therapy dogs, and Leash Pals teaches elementary schoolers how to interact with dogs safely and productively.
“We’re doing a good thing and we just want to keep doing it,” says Thomasson, who notes that Pets for Life is always looking for volunteers and donations. So far, the organization has managed to exist and even grow with the help of mainly smaller donations. “We just keep going and growing,” says Thomasson. “Someone must think we’re doing something right.”
To find out more about Pets for Life visit www.kcpetsforlife.com, call (816) 363-3665, or attend their next volunteer recruitment event April 25th at Tails R’ Waggin in
Overland Park.
words: Cisley Thummel