They call dogs man’s (and woman’s) best friends for a reason—the cuddly pets bring us love like no other animal can. Big or small, they provide devoted companionship and unconditional love. These connections create powerful emotional bonds that result in very positive effects, especially for hospice care patients.
At Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care, we’re fortunate to be able to work with many assisted living facilities, charities, and philanthropic companies, and we also have several amazing volunteers who share their lovable pups with our patients. A patient’s own pet can even be considered a therapy assistance dog. In fact, so many of our patients opt for hospice care so they can return to their homes and be with their furry friends. It’s because of the companionship, love, and support that they receive from their pet that they can’t get from other humans.
Hospice patients of all kinds can benefit from therapy dog visits. When we meet with a new patient for the first time, we ask them if they’re open to seeing an assistance dog and go from there. Therapy dogs truly have the unique ability to bring transformative joy and comfort to patients during their end-of-life journey.
Benefits of Assitance Dogs
When a therapy dog visits a patient, it promotes activity, conversation, and emotional connection and support. Patients can interact with therapy dogs as they would any pet (playing fetch, hugging them, petting them, and giving playful commands), but often, just being in the presence of an assistance dog is all that’s needed to encourage positive effects. Here are a few of the reasons assistance dogs are an important aspect of hospice care.
Emotional support and comfort
The main benefit assistance dogs provide hospice patients is emotional support—helping alleviate a patient’s anxiety, depression, and loneliness. They’re a non-judgmental listener and loving friend who will quietly sit with our patients as they work through negative and unwanted feelings. In fact, just petting a therapy dog can increase oxytocin levels, which helps reduce stress. And, as an added benefit, because therapy dogs relieve depression and anxiety, the need for medications to treat those mental health issues is often decreased.
Companionship
Therapy dogs are especially beneficial to hospice patients who don’t have family nearby or who lack a support system. The dogs offer companionship that patients need during this trying time in their lives. It gives a patient someone to talk to and confide in; they’re often able to share thoughts and feelings with the animal that they wouldn’t say to another person. When we notice a patient has become more withdrawn, and interacting less frequently with those around them, we’ll bring in a therapy dog to help them feel a sense of connection and support.
Improved mood
Bringing in therapy dogs to visit with patients gives them something to look forward to on a regular basis. The dogs bring them happiness in tough times, improve their mood, and help them recall fond memories from when they were younger. For example, one of our volunteers brought their cocker spaniel to visit a patient, and it was the same breed he had growing up. Interacting with a pup from his childhood brought back a spark we hadn’t seen in him in a while, and he opened up a bit more during that visit.
The therapy dogs we work with are an important extension of our Ardent care team. They help us provide total care to our patients, emphasizing emotional health and wellness. To find out more information about our hospice services and the other therapies we provide, contact us online or call (559) 408-5945.
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