St. John Ambulance Therapy Dogs: Bringing Joy & Comfort to Everyone They Visit!
As our population lives longer, more people than ever are spending the last years of their lives in hospitals and care facilities. At the same time our family structures have changed significantly and today many families are separated by great distances leaving many seniors feeling isolated and alone. Seeing this growing need, St. John Ambulance established the Therapy Dog program in 1992 and continues to grow the number of Therapy Dogs and Therapy Dog visits each year! This program builds on their outstanding tradition of providing expert first aid, health and community care and has grown to become a recognized leader in providing help and comfort through Therapy Dogs.
The Therapy Dog program is one of the most successful community programs offered by St. John Ambulance. Professional caregivers acknowledge that animals can help to break down the barriers of loneliness, despair and rejection. St. John Ambulance Therapy Dogs and their handlers will visit anyone in Niagara Falls who will benefit from the regular petting and love of a dog, primarily seniors and children.
The Therapy Dog program continues to help increase community belonging, social engagement and inter-generational interaction for the Therapy Dog handlers and for those they visit, increasing health and wellbeing and bringing people together to build a stronger future. The Therapy Dog program makes a positive impact on seniors’ lives and promotes wellness, social integration and supports the overall wellbeing of the community.
St. John Therapy Dog volunteers visit the same people with the same dog on a weekly basis, allowing the person and animal to bond. Since dogs are non-judgmental and they are undeterred by human frailties, they are accepting of those with physical or mental illness, or those presenting with confusion or tears. They calm the distressed, distract those in discomfort, and offer companionship to the lonely or shut-in. Just a few minutes with a Therapy Dog can bring a smile and brighten the day of a person in a stressful situation.
The Therapy Dog program provides an opportunity for individuals to talk with the volunteer and the dog, feel, touch, pet and cuddle the dog and receive unconditional love from the Therapy Dog. The program offers many health and wellness benefits, improving quality of lives throughout the community. Some of the reported benefits include greater social engagement with individuals, residents smiling and talking more, participating in more activities, stress relief and distraction from pain, improved self-confidence and comfort during times of distress.
Therapy Dogs visit in group homes, residential and care facilities, hospitals and schools and bring comfort and cheer under difficult circumstances. Therapy Dogs, together with their handlers, visit any place where a little care and companionship is appreciated. Volunteers with the Niagara Falls Branch currently have regular visits at Valley Park Lodge, Oakwood Park Lodge, Eventide, GNGH Trillium, Bella Senior Centre, Meadows of Dorchester, Millennium Trail Manor and Emerald Retirement Residence.
In schools, Therapy Dogs participate in a special program called “Paws 4 Stories” which helps young children learn to read. Paws 4 Stories was introduced to assist in helping to improve the reading skills of children by having a child read aloud to a Therapy Dog. Through the Paws 4 Stories program, children quickly improve their reading skills and reading comprehension and gain self-confidence and improved self esteem. In the fall, even more schools will be visited by Therapy Dogs so that more children can gain confidence in reading.
Therapy dog services are provided in a wide range of community settings such as hospitals, seniors residences and care facilities, schools, universities and colleges, community centres and libraries. Therapy dogs routinely offer comfort and companionship in senior residences and care facilities. In hospitals, they may be providing relief and distraction for patients awaiting cancer treatments. University campus visits are very popular, helping to relieve stress during exam periods. In special instances, Therapy Dogs can be found working with police and fire departments, social workers and psychologists during times of crisis. We are continuously adapting to new opportunities expanding into such settings as mental health facilities, shelters, daycare centres and clinics and generally any setting where someone may benefit from the interaction and unconditional companionship a dog. Contact our office for more information if you think members from your organization or facility could benefit a visit from a Therapy Dog.
Becoming a Therapy Dog volunteer is a rewarding way to keep you connected with the community, restore a resident’s selfconfidence and self-esteem, and make a resident’s life richer, all while sharing the love of your dog! If you have a calm, wellbehaved dog who is more than a year old, and are interested in learning how you can get involved in the Therapy Dog program, contact our office at 905-356-7340, Niagara.Falls@on.sja.ca or at www.niagarafalls-sja.ca for more details.
The mission of St. John Ambulance is to enable Canadians of all ages to improve their health, safety and quality of life by providing first aid, training and community services. Proceeds from our First Aid & CPR courses help to support our community programs. St. John Ambulance provides many successful and reliable health and safety programs in Niagara Falls such as Chair-A-Van, Medical First Response, Search & Rescue Niagara, Water Patrol and the Therapy Dog Program.