Art, music and pet therapy - Today's Ancillaries, part 2

Nursing Homes, July-August, 1996 by Laura Bruck

When the Ballard staff discussed the possibility of a resident dog, their main concerns related to sleeping arrangements and care during the night. The solution: a staff member who was already thinking about getting a pet would adopt a dog, with Ballard's input, bring the dog to work with her and take him home in the evening. Ballard would help with the expenses, but the dog would belong to the employee.

Today, Dexter (named in a facility-wide "name-the-dog" contest) comes to work every day with his owner, Tifani Lea, Director of Admissions, and returns home with her at night. While he's "at work," Dexter spends his time in, and is the responsibility of, the activities department. Director of Community Services Kristin Joyce says Dexter is a hit at Ballard. "The residents and staff adore him. It's hard to remember you're in a nursing home when there's a puppy sitting in your lap, licking your face."

Your local animal shelters and animal welfare organizations have hundreds of healthy, loving dogs and cats just waiting for a good home. A nominal fee includes initial shots and sometimes spaying or neutering as well. Considering the hundreds of thousands of unwanted dogs and cats that are destroyed each year, adopting one of these animals amounts to saving a life, a concept that your residents, who may feel unwanted or unneeded, will certainly respond to.

Of course, adopting an animal is, or should be, a lifelong commitment, and bringing a dog or cat to live in your facility for the next 12 to 15 years is a decision that should never be made lightly.

At Ballard, community services assistant (and animal lover) Stacy Pfeiffer spent several months laying the groundwork for Dexter's arrival, making sure there was a program in place well before his adoption. She researched adoption facilities, arranged for veterinary care, budgeted for and located supplies and even enrolled Dexter in an on-site training program. Before going to the animal shelter to find a dog, all arrangements with respect to where the dog would spend his time and who would assume responsibility for his care had been made and finalized.

This kind of preparation is key to ensuring that you'll never regret your decision to have a resident pet. In addition, there are several other important issues to consider and decisions to make.

* Dog or cat? Cats are essentially "low maintenance." They don't have to be walked and can be left for longer periods of time than dogs. It is, however, this dog-lover's admittedly biased opinion that a dog usually makes a better resident pet, primarily for two reasons: 1) Cats can be affectionate - if you're lucky enough to find a "lap cat," but a dog that doesn't like to be petted and be around people is a rare animal (excuse the pun), while a cat with those characteristics is much more common. 2) People are more likely to have allergies to cats than to dogs.

If you can't decide, adopting a dog and cat (they generally get along with one another quite well) may be an option. Some nursing homes are also setting up aviaries or small animal "petting zoos." For the purposes of this article, however, we'll assume you've decided to adopt a dog.