At Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana, USA, dogs have a very important job: greeting visitors and patients as they arrive —

There are around five therapy dog greeters at Memorial, and most afternoons one of them is on duty.

Renee Langdon volunteers at the hospital with her therapy dog partner, Drew, a 150-pound St. Bernard.

Drew greets a visitor.

Drew, 3 years old, is a Delta Society-certified therapy dog, and has been socialized for this role since he was 5 months old, Langdon explained.

When guests of the hospital see Drew, their faces light up. Langdon greets each guest, asking them if they would like to pet Drew. Even guests who have walked by will come back to pet the dog.

“Drew has a very calming effect for people. You forget you’re in a hospital and you feel better about yourself,” Langdon said.

Dogs — and all pets in general — have been found to lower blood pressure, Langdon said.

[Via South Bend Tribune: Hospitality has a new face.]

I was interested to read that even people who fear dogs find a dog at the entrance way a talking point, as they share their fears.

What a great idea! Good on you, Memorial Hospital.

A study at Loyola University Health System found that:

Painkillers. Photo by Yersinia.

Adults who use pet therapy while recovering from total joint-replacement surgery require 50 percent less pain medication than those who do not.

That’s a pretty amazing finding, but not entirely surprising news to a dog lover.

We know our pets can cheer us up, give us a smile or a laugh, make the world weigh a little less heavy.

The article goes on to describe 4 different classes of assistance dog:

Service dogs are trained to assist with physical tasks and provide social support to their partners. These dogs learn 40 commands to enhance the independence of people with ailments ranging from spinal cord injuries to multiple sclerosis.

Facility dogs are trained to work with a professional in a visitation, education or health-care setting. They can perform more than 40 commands designed to motivate, rehabilitate or soothe clients with special needs.

Skilled companion dogs are trained to work with an adult or child with a disability under the guidance of a facilitator. Disabilities served include cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, autism and Down’s syndrome. A skilled companion also can serve as a social bridge to people who are not used to relating to a person with disabilities.

Hearing dogs are trained to recognize and alert partners to various sounds, such as a doorbell, alarm clock or smoke alarm. The average service life of each dog is eight years. After that time, the dog retires to live out its golden years as a pet.

[Via : News Release Detail.]

Have you had any experience of dogs reducing pain — physical or emotional? It would be interesting to hear your experiences.

There are many reasons why some kids have trouble reading. And as adults we can sometimes be just too helpful, jumping in to correct a mistake or help with a hard word.

Books.

The child may strive to please us, becoming anxious about getting it right and finding things even harder than before.

But what say you replace the ‘helpful’ adult with a dog? I’ve never yet had a dog tell me I was doing something wrong. In fact, dogs are usually famous for their uncritical adulation, their acceptance of people as they are.

Could reading to a dog help kids relax and enjoy their book, improve their skills even?

The answer seems to be: Yes. Absolutely!

An attentive dog.

During a recent session [at the library], Zeke wagged his tail and sat or laid quietly as children read. Sometimes he gazed into their eyes. Other times, he looked right at the pages of the book as the children read.

Zeke never criticizes or corrects when a child stumbles over an unfamiliar word. Zeke would never make fun of a child who mispronounces a word.

Children seem to be uninhibited and relaxed when reading to dogs, which is why the program seems to work.

And, it’s just plain fun.

[Via : Children read to training dog Zeke each Thursday at Moon library.]

The dogs are trained for their job of being read to. They are registered Therapy Dogs who must be certified regularly.

Therapy Dogs International’s “Tail Waggin’ Tutors” program encourages children to read by providing a non-judgmental listener and furry friend to read to that won’t laugh at them if they make a mistake or stumble over a word, but rather lie next to them and enjoy the story being read to them. The children learn to associate reading with being with the dog, and begin to view reading in a positive way. Over time, the child’s reading ability and confidence can improve because they are practicing their skills, which will make them enjoy reading even more.

… In a library, the reading sessions usually take place in a quiet, comfortable area. The child picks out a book that he or she would like to read, and sits down next to the dog and handler and start reading. (We often find that the book is one the child thinks the dog would enjoy!)

[Via : Therapy Dogs.]

I love that kids pick a book they think the dog would enjoy — that’s a whole skill in itself that encourages thinking of others, consideration and empathy.

If you have a child who’s having problems reading, and you have a quiet, attentive dog, perhaps you could encourage your child to read to the dog.

I guess the therapy dogs are trained not to go to sleep though while being read to. That could be quite a damper!

There are those who are concerned that working dogs don’t have enough playtime, enough opportunity to socialise with their own kind:

Some animal advocates are concerned that Mosby and his working colleagues get too few opportunities to socialize with other dogs. NEADS [Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans] asks owners to plan play dates and make regular visits to offleash dog parks, “so the dog has a chance to be a dog,’’ she said.

Mosby, a golden retriever, goes to church on Sunday and visits with the sick and infirm. He’s a ministry dog — a type of assistance dog assigned to clergy and church workers to offer comfort. It’s a job that’s open to a wider variety of breeds than some assistance roles :

There is also a growing demand for therapy dogs of all types. NEADS began providing dogs for military veterans with physical injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder in 2006, and more dogs are requested by injured vets every year. [O’Brien, the agency’s chief executive officer] also predicts there will soon be a boom in demand for dogs trained to assist autistic children, and to detect blood-sugar imbalances in diabetics.

The pool of trained therapy dogs is limited, with NEADS graduating just 50 or so annually from all its programs.

But one advantage for the ministry dog program is its acceptance of a wider variety of breeds, even tiny shih tzus, while traditional assistance dogs tend to be retrievers or German shepherds, large enough to guide a client through traffic and crowds, said O’Brien.

[Via : As a ministry dog, Littleton’s Mosby brings healing touch to nursing homes and hospitals - The Boston Globe.]

Dogs can bring so much joy and warmth into lives that may be restricted. When Mosby visits a facility caring for those with Alzheimer’s:

… residents halted a bingo game to reach out to touch the dog. Several elders who had been sitting in silence started talking animatedly.

“Isn’t he beautiful?’’ murmured one woman in a wheelchair.

Have you had experience with therapy or ministry dogs? Tell us about it in the Comments.

We know dogs can lift your spirits, and promote good health, but it seems they can alleviate pain too:

Edward’s Animal-Assisted Therapy program recently celebrated its 100,000th patient visit. The program has 84 dogs of 40 breeds.

Their handlers take them to patients in nine units in the hospital — essentially everywhere except the intensive-care unit and labor and delivery — and let patients pet the animals or have them sit on their beds.

Designed to alleviate patient pain, the program has had a demonstrable impact, said Patty Kaplan, who directs the program. An Edward study showed that patients who receive dog visits require half the pain medication of patients who do not, and outside studies corroborate the findings, she said.

[Via : Dogs lift patients' spirits at Edward Hospital -- chicagotribune.com.]

Have you been in a hospital or similar institution and had a visit from a dog? How did that make you feel? Tell us about it in the comments.