BY JOLENE HART
Staff Writer
JERRY WOLKOWITZ staff Instructor Beth Williams pets Molly, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, owned by Joann McCloskey (l), of East Brunswick, during Sunday’s training session. Molly, Josie and their classmates seem to have a natural gift for lifting spirits — just what the doctors ordered at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge.
Part of a special group of canines training to become therapy dogs, they are on track to become the newest additions to a growing program at the medical center.
Next week, the dogs will be put through one final test that will certify their readiness to visit patients.
Susan Pasternack, manager of volunteer services at Raritan Bay Medical Center, is responsible for introducing the therapy dog program to the facility.
“It was long in the making,” Pasternack said.
She credits a growing appreciation for the merits of alternative medicine with broadening the community’s acceptance of the program.
“Health care is changing,” Pasternack said. “We now look at alternative medicine and understand the benefit of this type of therapy.”
The canine therapy program, in its second year, is already successful enough to warrant expansion, she said. To promote the program and increase participation, a seven-week training course for the dogs has been held over the last two months for the first time in the medical center facilities. The course was held each Sunday, culminating with the Jan. 9 test.
The five canines training to become therapy dogs are as varied as the patients they will visit. Molly, the 150-pound black Newfoundland, gets along just fine with Coco, a tiny Shih-Tzu, as does Tonka, a Bernese mountain dog. And Josie, a 6-year-old Rottweiler, “should be a poster child for the program,” Pasternack said.
“They have a keen sense for somebody that’s sick,” she said of the dogs.
Pasternack, having attended the training sessions, said she has noticed a natural trust between the owners and the dogs that have excelled in the course.
Beth Williams and Anna Perez, course instructors, agree that it is the disposition of the animal, more than the breed or age, that matters in identifying good candidates for the program. The trainers initially screen their canine candidates to find those that have previously passed an obedience course or simply demonstrate basic obedience. The dogs must follow
commands, be cordial and never be aggressive, and show a natural love for people, Williams explained. It is that final quality, that natural ability, that separates good therapy dogs from those that are simply well-behaved.
For the instructors, the new opportunity to hold training sessions inside the medical center is extremely valuable.
According to Williams, providing the space for dogs to become comfortable around gurneys, wheelchairs, IV poles and monitoring equipment is one of the most important aspects of the training. There can be no jumping up on patients or grabbing at delicate machines.
“The trainers even teach the dogs not to eat food that belongs to patients because of the chance that it contains medicine,” Pasternack said at the outset of the current training program. “Just riding in an elevator is an experience. The dogs need to get familiar with the sights, sounds and smells of the hospital. This is all pretty new for them.”
The course serves the important purpose of familiarizing owners with the hospital environment even as it trains the dogs, Williams said.
According to Pasternack, a typical visiting day for a certified therapy dog depends on the mood and schedule of the patients. A dog, wearing its official uniform and accompanied by its owner, will visit between five and 20 patients in a few hours. A visit may be as short as a 30-second greeting and introduction or as long as a 15-minute meeting. Each room that the dog enters has been carefully screened by nurses to ensure that the visit is wanted and that no one in the room has allergies to animals.
“This program is important for the socialization of our patients,” Pasternack said.
A visit from one of the dogs will often prompt the recollection of a beloved pet or a happy memory, even in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, she said. The dog also serves as an easy way for the owners to start a conversation with patients.
“Our goal is to create a different form of treatment,” Pasternack said.
Pet therapy has been shown to reduce blood pressure and stress, she added.
“We want to promote wellness,” she said.
Raritan Bay Medical Center currently has one therapy dog that makes visits at its Perth Amboy division and three that regularly visit Old Bridge. Patients in the pediatric and oncology units are most likely to see the dogs.
In the five years that Williams has worked as a canine trainer, she has seen a shift in the popular opinion of pet therapy programs, as they gain mainstream acceptance.
Before pet therapy was put to broader use, canine training was often limited to correcting existing behavior problems, Williams said, adding that her duties have transitioned to positive reinforcement for dogs who are prepared to go a step further.
She created her own school, The Doggie Joint, five years ago following a disappointing experience at another dog training facility. In addition to teaching training courses, Williams is involved in a therapy program with her 5-year-old boxer, Chloe, and has a younger dog in training.
When Williams and Perez are through training their canine pupils, a team of evaluators will assess the abilities of each dog and determine if they have what it takes to become a certified therapy dog.
The final test is no easy task, the instructors explained. The dogs are judged on their ability to remain calm in several stressful, crowded and noisy situations. Williams predicted her current pupils will complete the course with ease and soon will be making the rounds at the hospital, making friends and picking up where doctors leave off.