Diesel the service dog keeps on trucking
Senior Solution’s canine serves as therapist and companion
Several years ago, I discovered there was a tremendous need in Ottawa for help with seniors. Families with aging parents were busy with their own families, which is, as we call it, the Sandwich Generation.
Seniors Solution was born in 2007 and offers trusting and caring assistance for seniors. It can be both difficult and stressful trying to cope with an aging or ailing parent while trying to juggle a career, a family and a home.
Seniors Solution drives clients to medical appointments and takes notes for families, if requested. We provide transportation to other venues, companionship and assistance for those in their own homes, whether it be help with medication, eye drops, or light housekeeping. Our service improves the quality of life for seniors. We in turn provide spouses, adult children and caregivers an avenue of respite in the caring of their loved ones.
We have gained experience in helping people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia involving companionship, among other things. This is an area of which we are especially proud, as demonstrated by the positive feedback we receive from clients’ families. We are also involved in caring for the needs of the caregiver, who is very often overwhelmed and stressed.
Seniors Solution recently “employed” a service dog named Diesel, who serves as a therapist and companion to our clients. Diesel is a four-year-old rescue Doberman. Pets bring great benefits to all of us with their companionship, unconditional love and fun. By their very nature, pets do not judge, and they are not critical. For someone with dementia, those qualities make them a great companion. Their very presence can help reduce the effects of dementia anxiety, agitation, irritability, depression and loneliness. By their friendliness and non-threatening way, pets can help a dementia patient be more interactive, when sometimes they are not able to do so in social settings with other adults.
We had a client with dementia who did not want to have blood work done, as it caused him great anxiety every time we tried to take him. The next time we went, I brought Diesel with me, and the client was so focused on Diesel by his side that he felt safe with him, which allowed the technician to complete the blood work. Our clients can pet Diesel, which in turn decreases stress and helps to make their day a bit more pleasant. Diesel can, however, sense when someone is not interested in his attention, and he then quietly moves on to another person.
We have been getting calls from retirement residences asking us to come and visit their residents, and this we do on a volunteer basis. The smiles and love from seniors is incredibly rewarding, and Diesel himself smiles the whole time he is “working.” Many seniors had pets when they were young or had to give them up when they moved, and seeing Diesel conjures up many wonderful memories of their beloved pets. Diesel’s one and only desire is to be loved and give love, and it’s certainly a win/win for everyone.
The one thing I hear from people is, “it’s a Doberman, aren’t they mean?” Dobermans are loyal and extremely loving, and Diesel is certainly a testament to that!