Pet therapy visits bring cuddles and comfort
A Christmas tree gleamed in the common room at Lawrence Street Health Care, where resident Yvonne Gority sat petting a dog dressed as Santa. Teddy Bear the Cocker Spaniel is a frequent guest at the Tomball nursing home. Gority smiled as she scratched his silky ears and explained why the visits are so therapeutic.
“Because they don’t judge; that’s the thing — they don’t judge us. … Some people are scared to touch you; that’s the way some people are. And they’re more friendly,” Gority said, looking fondly at the dog.
Pet therapy visits bring Gority back to her childhood. She remembers cuddling her dog, being able to tell him her secrets and feeling an unconditional acceptance and support.
Teddy Bear and his owner, Nancy Holchak, are members of The Woodlands Northwest Houston chapter of the nonprofit Therapy Pet Pals of Texas, which has over 50 volunteers in Cypress, Tomball, Magnolia, Spring, The Woodlands and Conroe.
The organization, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2019, recruits and trains volunteers to “promote the human-animal bond through pet visitation programs,” director Nancy Gray said.
After Gority and her husband each suffered a stroke, they had to give up their dogs. Her husband currently lives with their son in a different facility. Gority hopes they can live together again soon. Until then, visits from pets such as Teddy provide a feeling of familiarity.
“You can hold him like you’re holding your child and it’s comforting,” Gority said.
Accompanying Holchak and Teddy Bear during the mid-December nursing home visit were volunteer Debbie Conner and her miniature Schnauzer, Sally, also dressed in her holiday best. Conner makes a point to visit the facility weekly. Many nursing home residents don’t have relatives who visit, she said.
“Which is heartbreaking, and for a lot of different reasons,” Conner said. “For some family members, it’s too difficult. I’ve been there. …You have to learn to love the new normal; which, it’s hard to see the changes.”
All-around healing
Living away from family can be especially tough on nursing home residents during the holidays, said Lawrence Street Health Care administrator Chrystal Stalder. Pet therapy helps ease emotional stress that may surface this time of year.
“Think of how many of us have pets at home — a lot of these residents are used to having pets around,” Stalder said. “The holidays remind them of being at home and what they had. Even the residents that have visitors every day, they still have that emotional void because they don’t see their family members every day. It still makes them sad, whether they have a spouse that’s no longer with them, or whatever the reason may be.”
But, she pointed out, the benefits of pet therapy aren’t exclusive to residents.
“There’s caregiver burnout,” Stalder said. “The staff can be extra stressed during the holidays as well, so the staff stops and pets the dogs just as much as the residents do.”
Being a pet therapy volunteer has helped Conner, too. It’s a way for her to honor the memory of her daughter, who was involved in pet therapy volunteer work geared toward pediatrics. Different pet therapy organizations focus on different areas of need, Conner said. Potential volunteers have options when determining how they would like to use pet therapy to benefit others. Conner, for example, feels called to provide pet therapy for nursing home residents.
“I keep putting myself in their position,” Conner said. “‘This is what I would want.’ ”
Bob Wagner, president of the Lawrence Street Health Care resident council, enjoys visits from Conner’s dogs, which remind him of his own. He believes pet therapy may offer the same to his fellow residents: a chance to see pets like the ones many of them had to leave behind.
“It’s something to identify with. I get such a good feeling when I’m with pets and it probably helps enhance the holiday spirit — makes you feel happy and joyful.”
Chief Nursing Officer Sharon Ikeler was familiar with TPPT from her time as CNO at the Tomball hospital. When she moved to HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest hospital in the Spring area in 2018 and realized there wasn’t a pet therapy program, she invited TPPT to visit.
As Holchak and Teddy Bear pass through the hospital, Ikeler said, their presence is like a magnet. Patients in pain, anxious family members and stressed staff reach out to pet Teddy, and their relief is noticeable.
“We saw it today,” Ikeler said. “Teddy Bear came in dressed like Santa Claus and joined us in our celebration as we served our holiday lunch to staff and the smiles on their faces, it melts away the anxiety.”
Harder during holidays
Holiday stress — financial or otherwise — may be compounded for people who are sick or who have lost loved ones. For them, Ikeler said, a visit from an animal can have tremendous value.
“Pet therapy is immeasurable — to realize what an impact that they have if people can just love on an animal and forget all of the worries, and all of the angst, anxiety, the pain that they may be going through,” Ikeler said.
TPPT began as a program for nursing homes, but has evolved to include visits to hospitals, schools and special events around the area, Holchak said.
In October, TPPT was invited to an oil and gas company’s mental health awareness day. A chaplain requested a pet therapy visit to a local school in December after the death of a student. Volunteers even bring pets to help students relax during final exam breaks at Lone Star College campuses, including Tomball and University Park.
TPPT welcomes dogs and cats, and holds pet qualification and training classes for new volunteers twice a year. Volunteers pay for their pet’s upkeep, grooming, gasoline for travel and other related expenses. Long-time volunteer Holchak said the reason she and Teddy continue their nursing home and hospital visits is to see people smile.
“You get really close to the residents,” Holchak said. “And the residents like it, and for just a split second, if they forget they’re lonely, or if they’re in a hospital they forget they hurt, it’s worth every single penny.”
“Pet therapy is immeasurable — to realize what an impact that they have if people can just love on an animal and forget all of the worries, and all of the angst, anxiety, the pain that they may be going through.”
Chief Nursing Officer Sharon Ikeler