Agency: Dogs bring smiles
Assisted Living Services adds animal therapy to programs
A visit from a furry pup can put a smile on anyone’s face, and a company that cares for the aging population has taken notice.
“To bring an animal into someone’s home and to see the smile on their face really does bring a joy to us,” said Nick D’Aquila, whose family owns and operates Assisted Living Services, based in Meriden.
The senior care agency, which also has offices in Fairfield and Clinton, is adding animal therapy to its list of services offered to hundreds of clients statewide.
Assisted Living Service employs more than 400 people and serves hundreds of clients across the state with the goal of helping seniors and disabled clients stay in their own homes for as long as possible.
ALS recently debuted 10-month-old Marlow, a golden retriever, as its new therapy dog for clients.
The company offered a similar service five years ago under the leadership of D’Aquila’s mother, Sharron, who would bring another dog named Sunny to client’s homes upon request.
Sunny died five years ago of lymphoma.
“She would do it free of charge and bring the dog there ... and he would pretty much bring a smile to the client’s face,” said Nick D’Aquila. “Continuing my mother’s legacy in visiting clients as well as having her join is a great feeling.”
Marlow has already begun the twoyear training process to become a Registered Pet Partners Therapy Animal and is expected to be available for
requested visits by clients.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than
575,000 Connecticut residents were age 65 and older in 2016, making up roughly
16 percent of the population. That’s a three-percentage point increase from
2000, when about 13 percent of people in the state were 65 and older.
The concept behind animal therapy training is to increase connections — physically and socially — among the senior clients as they interact with the dog.
A poll of 50- to 80-yearolds by the University of Michigan found that owning a pet or interacting with an animal reduces stress, anxiety and feelings of loneliness. Among the
2,000 people polled for the study, dogs were the most common pet.
Data from UCLA found that just petting animals provided mental health benefits to seniors.
“It’s increasing interactions with the seniors and making them more sociable,” D’Aquila said. “I think the interactions with the therapy dog brings out the inner emotions that people are holding inside that they don’t really know how to express.”
When ALS featured animal therapy, D’Aquila said, requests usually came from former pet owners who were unable to care for an animal on their own or seniors who lost a spouse or loved one.
While Marlow will be the only therapy dog ALS offers for the near future, D’Aquila said there is a possibility for more therapy animals in the future.
“What it’s going to turn out to be is bringing a better value with the services that we provide, making sure that the well being of our clients is the best and they are as happy as they could possibly be with our services,” D’Aquila said.