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From "The Warmth of a Cold, Wet Nose",
Hopkins Medical News, Winter 2001, and
Dome, A publication for all the members of the Johns Hopkins Medicine family, Volume 52, Number 1, January 2001
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The Warmth of a Cold, Wet Nose
By Anne Bennett Swingle
Winter, 2001; Page 7
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By definition, the young
patients who stay at the
building known as
Children's House on the edge
of campus are seriously ill.
They're all under treatment at
Johns Hopkins, and can count
on being there for a lot more
than just an in-and-out visit.
But the dogs who drop in
on these kids twice a month
don't seem to notice that the
boy from Kenya is in a wheelchair, or that he's blind and
can't speak. And they're not
fazed either by the full-leg casts
on the little girl with Down
syndrome. These furry, four-legged visitors are here to provide a floppy ear to yank on
and a wagging tail to grab.
They're therapy dogs, who
along with their owners are part
of National Capital Therapy
Dogs (NCTD), a non-profit
Washington-based organization
that offers regular visits by
man's best friends to area hospitals and health care facilities.
Predictably, this canine contingent contains its fair share of
amiable labs and retrievers. But
on a recent evening at the Children's House, some two dozen
children and adults gathered in
the company of Bailey, a stately
Great Dane who dutifully followed the lead of a pint-sized
walker. Two perky beagles,
Daisy and Annabelle, kept a
watchul eye on the goings-on,
as a tribe of toddlers got up
close to coo and pet.
The dogs and their handlers are evaluated periodically for obedience - dogs
must respond to commands
like sit, stay, down and
come - and pleasant dispositions. Before each visit,
they are bathed, groomed
and outfitted with official
tags. Dogs must be free of
parasites, infection and
disease and have all their
inoculations up to date.
According to NCTD, in
all the years of pet-assisted
therapy in hospitals, not
one case of infection has
been shown to be caused
by a dog.
Some 2,000 animals
nationwide provide documented psychological
benefits for the sick and
disturbed and visit more
than 350,000 patients
each year. Here at the
Children's House, where
kids often stay for long
periods or return again
and again, no documentation is required. There simply is nothing like a dog
when it comes to lavishing
unconditional love and
helping a child forget.
- Anne Bennett Swigle
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© 2001 Hopkins Medical News
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Bailey, a stately Great Dane dutifully follows the lead of a pint-sized walker.
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Two beagles, Daisy and Annabelle
dropped in on kids at Children's
House on a recent night.
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