The power of dogs
Dominic Portelli, 4 Favourite song? Favourite colour? Who is your best friend? What makes you laugh?
dad when he pops off
What makes you sad? What are you afraid of? If you could change your name what would it be? Dominic What are you really good at? Watching ipads What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch?
Sausages and bacon
What is your favourite fruit? Cheerios What would you like to be when you grow up?
A person Bombs away
Orange, green and gold Shay, Brock and Owen My big brother and my
How old is grown up?
When I’m in bed by myself Spiders and ants 46 WHEN you think of nursing homes you probably wouldn’t associate it with dogs, but Catholic Care Holy Spirit Dubbo has been hosting our fury friends weekly since November last year through its Pet Therapy program, and the response has been quite remarkable.
The program began after Anna Minney from Family and Community Services was on the lookout for a therapy dog for a patient at Holy Spirit and met Karen Johnston, an accredited canine instructor, through a mutual friend.
After Karen visited the individual patient, staff at Holy Spirit were overwhelmed at the response the dogs had on their residents and decided to extend the program to rest of the facility and St Mary’s Villa.
Holy Spirit residential manager Di Thomas says the way in which Karen and her dogs interact with the residents is admirable.
“Karen has a gift. It’s an art to engage with people like she does, it’s all about her skills, respect and good judgement.”
Whether it be cheering up residents or providing them with company and entertainment during a morning’s game of bingo, the visits from the dogs have brightened the lives of the residents at the nursing home, prompting some very memorable and emotional moments.
“There was one patient who had deteriorated and was unresponsive, she had her family visiting her and I came in and put Milo on her lap and said ‘Milo’s here, do you want to give him a kiss?’ and she puckered her lips and came back for about a minute and a half.
“It’s these moments that make the job so special, I’m thankful I have three dogs that can bring so much to people’s lives,” said Karen.