Therapy Dogs Bring Comfort, Care

Pam Becker was visiting Freedom Village Healthcare Center with her therapy dog Abby when a woman called out from one of the rooms. Becker looked in and saw the woman standing behind a man in a wheelchair. The woman said her father had been at the center two weeks and wasn't speaking or responding to anything. Could Becker bring her dog in?

The woman leaned over the man and said, "Dad, look up. We have a surprise for you." He opened his eyes and saw Becker holding Abby.

"His face lit up, he put out his hands and said, ‘Puppy, puppy.’ The daughter started crying, and I could barely hold back tears," Becker recalled. "We spent quite some time with Abby in his lap and him just stroking her with a smile on his face.”

Becker has experienced dozens of stories like that since she started making therapy dog visits 13 years ago: a little girl waking up from a coma and asking for the dog that had visited her that morning; people seeing Becker in the supermarket and recognizing her as “Bentley’s mom;” a hospitalized woman saying, “I thought the shower was the highlight of my week, but seeing this dog is better than that.”

Becoming a therapy dog handler was not something Becker had ever thought about, but after she adopted Abby, which she describes as her canine soul mate, she wanted to share the animal's special qualities with others.

“I got involved with the Saddleback Valley Humane Society and SPCA, and found they had a program where members would take their dogs to assisted-living homes on a specific schedule each weekend," she said. "I looked into it and got started. One thing led to another and I decided to get involved more formally and become certified through the Delta Society.”

Sharing her dogs with people is rewarding, but so is hearing their reminiscences about the past.

“I’ve met more seniors who grew up on farms in East Los Angeles.  Can you picture that? To participate in their lives as they remember and talk about their families and experiences gives them joy. You see them get animated and smile. They can’t have animals anymore so they love us sharing ours with them.” 

Many people who get involved in making therapy dog visits prefer to visit children’s hospitals or participate in the R.E.A.D program, which helps children improve their reading ability by having them read to pets. Where teams are most needed, though, is in assisted-living homes, Alzheimer’s facilities, and hospice centers for people who are terminally ill.

“You can imagine why we have a hard time finding teams for hospice,” Becker says. “Not everyone can handle what it means and many don’t understand that those in hospice have come to peace about their situation. I have hospice patients who are very lucid and very talkative and interesting, and they love the dog visits. We laugh and joke and watch TV and read. The dog falls asleep as it’s being petted. The patient falls asleep petting the dog, and I just stay as long as necessary, either reading or watching TV. It’s peaceful and rewarding.”

Becker has had four therapy dogs over the years and now volunteers as a therapy pet team evaluator for the Delta Society to help others get involved. She’d like to see many more people and pets start making therapy visits.

Doing therapy work has brought unexpected opportunities.

“Our local Delta group has a nonprofit benefactor foundation called the Animal Health Foundation. They needed a new executive director of the foundation in the winter of 2010 and asked if I would interview with the board of trustees for the position. How terrific is that? So now I work part-time for the Animal Health Foundation based here in Lake Forest.” 

Being in a therapy dog team requires in-depth training and a regular time commitment. It can be mentally and sometimes physically exhausting for both person and animal. But the appeal is undeniable.

“What can be better than being with your dog for a couple of hours and watching people in a hospital or assisted living or Alzheimer’s facility light up when you enter a room?” Becker says. “You are taking their minds off their health or situation and giving them a wonderful, memorable time. The dog and I are tired after our visit, but it’s worth every single minute.”