Dog Dispenses Feel-Good Therapy at Children's
July 11, 2005 | Emotions and Behavior
Being in a hospital can be frightening enough for adults, let alone children. But a program at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital is making it easier on patients, parents and staff alike.
After being poked and prodded, Katie Cartee was ready for a break. Enter Sugar Bear, the undercover physical therapist, in canine form.
“Sometimes we get them to throw the ball just for pure pleasure and sometimes we have them throw the ball because they need to rehabilitate their arm or their shoulder,” said Christi Dudzik of Healing Paws. “It’s a lot more fun to play with a dog.”
“Shug” has been coming to Children’s Hospital for the past five years, which means so has his partner, Dudzik.
“It’s just a wonderful experience to be on the other end of the leash,” she said.
“I get to see miracles happen on a pretty regular basis.”
“There’s been several times when the first time a child has spoken has been to give a command to a dog. It’s pretty amazing,” said art-and-play therapist Rosalie Frankel at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. “It’s not just the patients who look forward to these visits, the staff does, too.”
“Everyone’s always asking when are the dogs coming and they want them to come to their unit and their floor, it’s really wonderful,” Frankel said.
But you could say Sugar Bear is in charge.
“Sometimes he’ll point out who the designated patient is and it might not be the person in the bed,” Frankel said. “It might be a stressed parent, it might be a staff person who is having a tough go of it that day.”
“He is very well suited for this job because he is so people-focused,” she added. “He thinks that everyone is there for him.”
Maybe they are.
Dogs and their handlers undergo a rigorous training program before they can be certified as pet partners.