Pets provide therapy
By James Cullum
For the past two years, a small group of residents at the Greenspring retirement community has been improving the mental health of residents by simply falling asleep on laps and waiting to be petted.Wheeling Yorkshire terrier sisters Itsy and Bitsy in her Greenspring shopping cart, resident Frida Burner said, "There was one resident here who would not talk to the nurses or doctors or her family. But as soon as she saw one of these dogs, she'd open up. She talked to the dogs. She would say how beautiful and soft they were, then she would ask me questions. The doctors said it was fantastic."
Renaissance Gardens is the full-time assisted living facility on Greenspring's Springfield campus, and many of the 2,000-person community's other residents volunteer there.
"Residents here are aware that at some point, whether temporarily or permanently, we may be residents at Renaissance Gardens ourselves. So it's in our own best interests to make it as pleasant a place as possible," said Kay McCurdy, whose bearded collie Maisie sits calmly by wheelchairs and allows pats from people living with Alzheimer's, dementia or mobility issues.
The pets have been through pet therapy training and, for many residents, bring back memories of old dogs and happy times. Studies have shown that this process can reduce agitation and improve social skills and overall health in dementia patients.
The simple pleasure of holding a small animal brought tears to the eyes of Pauline Vlahakes.
"I used to have many sorts of dogs," she said. "I like to have them here when I see them."
The residents see the dogs twice a month. Burner, McCurdy and a group of other residents with their dogs spend half an hour on each floor of Renaissance Gardens, going door to door and asking each resident if they would like to pet a dog for a little while.
"We want to just bring pleasure to some of the people here, and I think we're doing that," McCurdy said.