Tuesday, January 26, 1999
Dogs, cats give elderly a boost
'Doctor' comes with tail wagging
BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON —— Between mashed potatoes and Jell-O, reruns of Wheel of Fortune and seamless days staring out the window, there's Mandy.
The golden retriever saunters down the hallways of the Mason Christian Village retirement center and nursing home with her instructor in tow.
Suddenly, blank stares come alive, shaky hands reach out from wheelchairs for Mandy's face and stories spill forth of forgotten collies and beagle hounds.
“Hey, let me see that dog,” yells Martha Neumann, 90, shuffling stiffly down a long corridor to catch up with Mandy. “We always had dogs. I don't like cats. But I love dogs.”
The use of pet therapy to combat loneliness in elderly people is not new to the health profession. But now, some local programs are trying to determine if regular visits from furry friends cut down on seniors' need for anti-depressants, blood pressure pills and other medications.
“Instead of people reaching for tranquilizers, they are reaching for cats and dogs,” said Daryl Meyerrenke, program coordinator for the Mental Health Association Pet Club.
The Mental Health Association of the Cincinnati Area in Mount Auburn is a non-profit financed by United Way and private donations. Its pet program is conducting research with a non-profit group at Meadowbrook Care Center in Montgomery to learn the benefits of pet visits in mental health treatment of elderlypeople.
Among other things, the study is tracking depression, the use of tranquilizers, agitation, anxiety, and weight loss or gain before and after pet visits, Mr. Meyerrenke said. Study results are to be released next month.
“They've known about pet therapy for awhile, but they've never known how it works,” he said. “We're just now finding out it helps much more than we thought.”
The program has about 130 volunteers who visit 55 to 60 nursing homes, children's centers and hospitals in Warren, Hamilton and Clermont counties.
Two Friday evenings a month, Pat Knight of Mason brings her neighbor's dog, Mandy, to Mason Christian Village.
Often, the residents remember Mandy but not Ms. Knight.
“I saw you when you first came in,” said Jim Knott, 91, rolling his wheelchair to the door to pet Mandy.
Mr. Knott, or Chief, as staff members call the former Mason fire chief, pets the red-brown dog as she sits with ears back and snout up, soaking in the attention.
“For a lot of patients, it gives them something to talk about and brings back memories and they socialize around pets where they wouldn't otherwise,” said Carol Adkins, a social worker and program manager for the Senior Behavioral Health Program at Good Samaritan Hospital.
The hospital plans to install an aviary in its new Senior Adult Mental Health Unit, which is expected to open at the end of February.
Interacting with pets can lower blood pressure and keep patients more upbeat and active, she said.
“Pets are non-threatening; they don't have to approve of you,” Ms. Adkins said. “Particularly with cats and dogs that visit, you can pick them up and stroke them. It's a closeness some older people may not have for awhile if they lost their family and are not close to anyone.”
At the Hillspring Health Care Center of Lebanon, Thelma Harpe can't get enough visits.
She asks for a second chance to pet Sky Dancer, a Siberian husky owned by volunteer Karen Collins of Lebanon.
“I wanted some more,” she says, petting Sky Dancer gently. “I had a doggy all my life. Something like this brings me close to him.”
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