GORE BAY—There is just that something about the unconditional love provided by a cat or dog that does wonders for the psyche of anyone, including seniors in a nursing home.
“It does have a huge impact on the emotional well-being of individuals,” stated Julie McDermid, Manitoulin coordinator for the Magical Paws Pet Therapy program. “A difference can be seen when the person and the animal make contact. The first thing residents and patients do when they meet a visiting dog is reach out and touch them. This strong need is often not met in any other way when people are in long term care situations. Pet therapy works on many levels to make unwell or lonely people feel reconnected to the world. For some residents it may be their only weekly physical contact outside of the staff members.”
The Magical Paws Pet Therapy program is a non-profit organization. Annette Lumbis is the coordinator and has chapters in Sudbury, Elliot Lake, Blind River, Sault Ste. Marie, Sturgeon Falls and now on Manitoulin Island.
“I have two dogs in the program, one a golden retriever named Annie, and Muddy Waters, who is part Chihuahua and jack russell terrier,” said Ms. McDermid, noting the latter, “was born to be a therapy dog. He is amazing, one of the nurses had asked how was he trained, and I said he wasn’t, this is just normal. I call it the ‘Muddy Love’.”
“We have a few other facilities on Manitoulin Island that would also like to have the Magical Paws Pet Therapy program provide visits to them as well, but until we have more Island teams we are unable to make this commitment,” said Ms. McDermid.
“What we are hoping for is to bring awareness to the Island about Magical Paws and to anyone who loves people and dogs that may will want to become a part of this special program,” said Ms. McDermid. “We like to visit the facility on the Island on a regular weekly basis and Wednesday I go to the Lodge with two other people who are also team members, Sharon and Paul Valli out of Sault Ste. Marie, with their two Chihuahuas, Dodge and Whisper, who have a summer home on Ice Lake. They have been visiting weekly at the lodge this summer with me and have been doing Pet Therapy for many years in the Sault and Sudbury. This part of the commitment that needs to be made by the handlers, that they are available to visit a facility every week, so the residents know they are coming and can look forward to the visit.”
Ms. McDermid pointed out that the next evaluations will be held in September and October in Sudbury. “I already have a couple of people who have contacted me who are interested in volunteering with Magical Paws and am so excited that we may have more teams soon.”
So what does it take to be a therapy dog? “The dogs or cats have to of course be friendly to strangers, sit politely for touch, walk on a loose leash and be able to handle noises and distractions all around them,” said Ms. McDermid. “And they have to adapt quickly to a new environment,” she said, noting, “as long as the dogs have a good temperament with all people and other dogs and they enjoy meeting people then they are probably a good candidate.”
“The breed of dog doesn’t matter. At the Lodge in Gore Bay there are 61 residents and some people don’t like little dogs, and some don’t like larger dogs,” said Ms. McDermid. “So we are able to give them both sizes.”
The Magical Paws program started on Manitoulin in June at the Manitoulin Lodge. “What we do is a room to room visit as well as a visit in the common room.” Gloria Hall, the activities coordinator at the Lodge who has helped implement the program with the visits, was given stickers; if a resident is not interested in a visit by a dog they would not have a sticker outside of their room.
“We always ask when we enter a room if they would like a visit from the dog,” said Ms. McDermid. “When we first started just about everyone wanted a visit, and now there isn’t anyone that doesn’t want to see the dogs and handlers. As the dog handlers we start to have a relationship with the residents as well. Sometimes it isn’t about the animal, it’s about your connection with a resident that makes the difference.”
Usually the visits last one hour in total, said Ms. McDermid. “Muddy does 150 percent for every person he sleeps soundly all the way home after a pet therapy session.”
If you are interested in becoming part of Magical Pet Paws Therapy or would just like more information please contact Julie McDermid at 705-377-4800 or email Annette Lumbis at magicalpaws.pt@hotmail.com.
