FORT SMITH, Ark. — Mercy Hospital Fort Smith is expanding its therapy dog program and giving Baxter some new co-workers.
Baxter, the therapy dog, who began visiting patients and co-workers last summer, will be joined by River, Honeybun and Lola Belle as part of the volunteer staff.
"We are thrilled to have additional therapy dog teams visiting us every week," said Jenni Powell, manager of volunteer services at Mercy Fort Smith. "We began the therapy dog program last year and saw significant benefits. The dogs really brighten everyone's day and help bring a sense of calm to those who need it most."
Mercy says the goals for the Therapy Dog program include:
- Improving patients' quality of stay, mood and emotional well-being
- Reduce patients' anxiety
- Providing comfort and joy
- Increasing interactions and dialogue
- Increasing overall patient satisfaction
- Providing stress relief for hospital staff, visitors and families
Faith Walker is a full-time student at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, a full-time nanny and owner of an 8-year-old long-haired chihuahua, Honeybun. Honeybun has been Walker's emotional support animal for several years and is a familiar face at the university.
Honeybun and Walker visit hospice and the pharmacy team, labor and delivery and the emergency room. The pair visit at least once a week and often arrive during shift changes.
Volunteer Kaley Moore, an assistant coach for the Southside High School girls basketball team, brings her 2-year-old Great Pyrenees-Australian Shepherd mix, River, to the hospital on Sundays.
Moore says River has been most helpful with patients and families when they receive difficult news.
"People will cry and just hug him," Moore said. "It's awesome to see the energy they get back. It's really cool to see how instantly a dog can change things, whether it's the mood or the energy in the room."
Walker agreed, saying, "I get a lot of people who have heard really hard news. I will walk through the ER, and you can tell everyone has a sigh of relief just for a second, being able to bring just a little bit of the outside world in."
Debbie and Larry Wright recently began bringing Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Lola Belle for hospital visits after Debbie first met therapy dog Baxter while her mother was a patient. The Wrights say they have noticed that the staff benefits as much from the visits as patients do.
"One day, we were in Labor and Delivery, and one of the doctors came around and petted her and said, 'I can feel my blood pressure falling. I'm so glad they implemented this program,'" Debbie Wright said.
Baxter's handler, volunteer Robert Mercer, said calm, controllable dogs are an excellent fit to serve as therapy dogs. The program recommends dogs that are receptive to strangers, not prone to nipping or barking, and non-reactive to other dogs.
The therapy dog program features Mercer assisting in getting the dog trained and certified as a therapy dog, while Powell works with the dog's caretaker on the volunteer side. The Alliance of National Therapy Dogs supports this dog certification process. Because both dog and handler are one team, both are signed up as volunteers, with the process taking several months.
Anyone interested in Mercy's dog therapy program can email Jenni Powell at jeanette.powell@mercy.net or click here to learn more.
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