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A Pet Partner team does rounds at Mease Continuing Care, bringing smiles to elderly residents.
By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 2, 2003
DUNEDIN -- Estelle Schnell was sitting in the lobby of a nursing center when she caught a glimpse of a tall, slender woman and a honey-colored dog.
Schnell's eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face as Kymm Kidwell and her 3-year-old golden retriever, Hunter, burst through the door of Mease Continuing Care and headed straight for 90-year-old Schnell, a petite woman with a shock of white curly hair.
"You are so good, boy," Schnell said as she ran her hands through Hunter's silky fur. Hunter stood near Schnell's wheelchair and basked in the attention.
"How are you?" asked Kidwell as she kneeled beside her.
"I get awful pains here and here," Schnell told her, holding her stomach. Then, she resumed stroking and caressing Hunter as he wagged his tail. "I did have a couple dogs and cats. We had any kind of animal. I just love them all."
Last Thursday marked Kidwell's fourth visit to Mease Continuing Care at Mease Manor Dunedin as a Pet Partner. The nationwide program sets guidelines for pets and their owners to visit patients at hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities.
Kidwell's job as a legal secretary and her 13-year-old son keep her pretty busy. But several months ago Kidwell, 42, decided she could stretch her schedule a bit thinner. She had watched a morning news show at her Clearwater home about how a dog helped a boy in a coma begin his recovery.
"It gave me the chills," said Kidwell. "I wanted to find out more information about this because I thought Hunter would make a good Pet Partner."
There are about 6,400 Pet Partners worldwide and about 10 locally, said Marianne Klingel, Pet Partners Tampa Bay area evaluator.
The Pet Partners Program was created by the Delta Society, a nonprofit based near Seattle that educates the public and helps link pets with people who are ill, disabled or have emotional difficulties.
To register, participants must take a training course to learn what to expect on their visits and how to interact with patients and staffers. They can opt for an eight-hour class with an instructor or a home-study version. All partner teams must be evaluated in person by a licensed evaluator, and pets need to be well behaved.
During the evaluation, pets must obey simple commands and demonstrate good behavior in response to various role-play situations, such as accepting strangers and allowing clumsy petting.
They must also react calmly to other animals.
Mease Continuing Care has a resident Siamese cat, named Snow. A yellow lab, named Emmett, comes by practically every day with a physical therapist assistant.
The nursing center gets several animal visitors from other organizations, too, according to Hope Weis, activity director.
The presence of animals has been credited with improving mood, health and sociability of the elderly. A 1999 study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society said that seniors who lived alone and had pets tended to have better physical and emotional well-being than those who didn't. Other research says studies have not demonstrated the benefits of animals or proved only small therapeutic gains.
Weis said seeing is believing.
"The residents love it," she said. "It lowers blood pressure. They get their mind off where they are. Petting a dog is automatic therapy. Dogs don't discriminate. They don't care if you slobber or don't say the right things at the right time."
After chatting with a few residents in the hall, Kidwell took Hunter to the TV lounge, where several folks were sitting in wheelchairs, watching news coverage of the war.
"I enjoy him very much," said Anna Hasselman, 95, after petting Hunter. "He's the most wonderful dog."
Meanwhile, Kidwell slipped Hunter a few treats from inside a Lancome bag slung over her shoulder.
As Kidwell and Hunter left the lounge, Schnell was waiting at the door for them.
"I just wish I could have a dog," said Schnell, getting in a few strokes before Kidwell strolled down the hall with Hunter.
-- Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com .