Pet Therapy Teams Provide Comfort
Children with prosthetic limbs, in wheelchairs or wearing baseball caps at Nemours, smile and laugh as they hug, pet, and talk to the dark bay American miniature horse with the seafoam-green orthotic leg device. Seven-year-old Buc stands calmly between Chris and Dale Dunn, surprisingly relaxed as the center of joyful, noisy attention. When the 36-inch horse looks these children in the eyes, hospital walls and medical scrubs fade away.
Buc almost did not survive to fulfill his unique destiny with Pet Partners of North Florida (PPNF), as part of the Dunn’s pet therapy team that visits Nemours, Riverside senior centers, fire stations, schools and events. An accidental rope entanglement severely damaged the miniature horse’s back leg and disconnected his hoof, and his owners could not afford vet bills. The Dunns adopted Buc, then learned that the lost hoof compounded by a 10% chance of survival, indicated euthanasia.
“Dr. Herb Loeman at Atlantic Veterinary Hospital thought differently. He agreed to try to help Buc and with 24-hour care by our friend, equestrian Claire Piatt, they saved Buc’s life. His foot healed, although it’s misshapen. Sam Marvin, certified veterinarian prosthetist-orthotist in Bushnell, Florida, created a custom orthotic leg support, and Buc wears protective boots. Walking is a challenge, but he’s a living miracle,” Dunn said. “His disability helps hospitalized kids, who each have their own challenges or who may also look or move differently. Buc loves them. He senses who needs him most and puts his head against that child’s chest.”
The other four-legged member of the Dunn’s animal-assisted therapy team is Buddie, an 11-year-old miniature Doberman pinscher. Buddie was adopted from St. Johns County Animal Control.
“When I put Buddie’s vest on he knows it’s time to go to work. If I place him carefully in the lap of a child in a wheelchair, he instantly knows to cuddle as gently as possible. If a child sits beside him, he crawls right into the child’s lap. Everyone notices his soft coat, just perfect for tiny hands,” Chris Dunn said. “With seniors, he understands their frailty and instinctively knows what to do to make them happy.” Chris and Dale Dunn own Ravenwood Farm Foundation, a dog and horse rescue. They volunteer as a PPNF-registered pet therapy team and participate in hurricane/all-disaster emergency preparedness and large animal rescue/recovery for Florida and Louisiana. They are PetSmart Emergency Response Team volunteers.
Cindy Ballantyne and her rescue rabbit, Gimli, were the first registered rabbit pet therapy team in North Florida. When they visit mental or behavioral health support groups, everyone asks why Gimli has only three legs. Ballantyne is a military veteran who has struggled with PTSD, depression, and has worked with domestic abuse victims. She knows how to immediately connect with her listeners, whatever their situations or personal challenges.
“I broke Gimli’s leg,” she tells them. “It’s all my fault.”
Uncomfortable silence and questioning stares normally follow as Ballantyne allows that statement to sink in. Then she explains that Gimli was relaxed on her lap when he suddenly became startled, and she could not react quickly enough to restrain him before he leapt to the ground. His severely broken leg could not be saved.
“What you say aloud to others or say to yourself inside your thoughts and how you say those words, really matters. Word choice and tone of voice can communicate entirely different meanings and emotions,” Ballantyne said. “What happened to Gimli was an awful accident. However, I could torture myself with blame and guilt regarding my actions or inability to act quickly enough. Unfortunately, that is what people dealing with life adversities, behavioral or mental health issues, often do to themselves. We want to show that simple changes are possible, can be learned and can help.”
Ballantyne said that her visits to share Gimli with first-grade children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or various learning differences, are eye-opening.
“Rabbits are prey animals and startle easily. To approach or pet Gimli, you must be calm and gentle. These children, who struggle to be calm or quiet, discover that it is possible, because they want so badly to interact with Gimli,” she said. “They learn to practice being able to quiet themselves or sit still. Still, slow, and quiet are skills quickly learned when petting Gimli is the reward. Every small success builds their self-esteem.”
Ballantyne and Gimli visited a local hospital burn unit where a young patient wore a partial face covering and gloves. A visiting child entered with her family, saw the injured patient, and loudly remarked, “Ooooh, gross!” Ballantyne recalled what a hurtful moment that was for the burn patient and her parents.
“I showed the visitor child that Gimli only has three legs. He looks very different from other rabbits, but that’s okay,” she said. “Working as a team with these special animals gives us many small teaching moments.” Ballantyne and Gimli visit Riverside/Avondale schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and patients at Brooks Rehabilitation.
PPNF’s board chairman, certified instructor, and registered handler, is Lorri Reynolds. Reynolds and her rescue cat, Sooshi, were the first locally registered feline pet therapy team. They visit Community Hospice & Palliative Care and PedsCare patients, Brookdale Avondale, St. Catherine Laboure and Taylor Manor senior living facilities. Reynolds said that COVID restrictions forced pet therapy teams to find new venues when hospitals and nursing homes locked down. An unexpected result has been more access to many new venues and greatly expanded services.
Pet therapy teams visited Jacksonville’s Amazon facilities after the 2020 shooting incidents to comfort workers traumatized by the violence, and nervous about their safety. They have visited the FBI, real estate and title companies, and other businesses to help share positive animal interaction, lift spirits, boost morale, and relieve stress, Reynolds said.
“People are surprised to see Sooshi walk in wearing her harness and leash, with her beautiful green eyes and diva air. She is totally relaxed and laid-back. Sooshi just wants to be admired and petted. That makes for the perfect, soothing visit, especially for hospice patients or seniors,” said Reynolds, vice president/managing broker of Watson Realty’s Avondale/Ortega office.
Each human handler said that most people need and want to feel connected to others during stressful times or situations, whatever their circumstances. To pet or hold an affectionate animal, could be the best part of the day. During animal-assisted therapy, the focus is on positive fun, relaxation, and enjoyment, to help better handle challenges that an individual or group might face.
PPNF is part of an all-volunteer, nonprofit national organization that promotes animal-assisted therapy through expert evaluation, training, testing, and registration of pet therapy team human handlers and their animal partners. Screening, adherence to the highest quality, research-based training, and continuing education ensure safe, effective visits.
The organization supports scientific research that documents the benefits of animal-assisted therapy and the human-animal bond: affection, acceptance, comfort during crisis, relief of anxiety and stress, feelings of normalcy, and home-like experiences.
PPNF’s local chapter has volunteer men, women, and youth pet therapy team handlers from the age of 16 to 78 and approximately 100 teams. Volunteers may register from the age of 10, although they must be accompanied on visits by an adult until age 18. If interested in this rewarding volunteer opportunity to show compassion, help others, make a difference in lives and enjoy a rewarding activity while sharing your pet, contact PPNF.
All PPNF visits and services are completely free of charge. PPNF registers nine animal species: cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, pigs, miniature and full-size horses, donkeys, llamas, and alpacas.
To learn if a pet is suited for therapy work, take the online quiz at petpartners.org/quiz, or contact: Pet Partners of North Florida, P.O. Box 1485, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32004 or call 904/612-8952. For more information, their email is [email protected] or visit their website, www.petpartnersnf.org.
By Julie Kerns Garmendia
Resident Community News
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