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| Rosemary Fraser, a patient in the Alton Memorial Hospital Geropsych Unit, spends some quality time with Murphy, an 8-year-old Old English Sheepdog who is part of the therapy dog group Touched By a Canine. |
ALTON, IL --Once a month, the Geropsych Unit at Alton Memorial Hospital goes to the dogs. But that’s a good thing.
On the third Tuesday evening of the month, members of Touched By a Canine, part of Therapy Dog International, pay a visit to the unit for some quality time between the patients and a small group of very gentle animals.
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“We look forward to it almost as much as the patients do,” says Jaime Dwiggins, a recreational therapist in the unit. “You can just see the difference the dogs make in patients who might have a lot of anxiety. They seem to put everyone at ease.”
Touched By a Canine is a local group that takes its dogs to several nursing homes and other institutions throughout the region. They also participate in the “Bow Wow Pow Wow,” a reading group for children at Alton’s Hayner Library.
“Different dogs are better at different things,” says Jerry Cooley of Touched By a Canine. “But they obviously need to be friendly with strangers and other dogs. And they need to strike a balance between being overly attentive and also a little aloof.”
Cooley said that most breeds of dogs can be trained to be a therapy dog and any size can work.
“The smaller ones can get right up on the bed with a patient,” he says. “And the bigger ones are easier to reach for a patient in a wheelchair, for example. It’s always good to bring multiple dogs for a visit. And it’s amazing how the patients can get attached to one. You often hear them saying, ‘That’s my dog.’”
Cooley says the local group has between 20 and 25 certified dogs. Certification is a one-time process through Therapy Dogs International. The group that visited the AMH Geropsych Unit recently included Dobby, a 6-year-old Doberman Pinscher; Murphy, an 8-year-old Old English Sheepdog; Tommy, an 8-year-old Pit Bull mix; and Sydney, a 5-year-old Lab/Golden Retriever mix.
“They really brighten the day for everyone when they come,” Dwiggins says. “It doesn’t take long to see what huge hearts these pets have. We really appreciate this group for spending time with us each month. It goes a long way in the treatment of our patients.”
