Canines and Physical Therapy: A Successful Collaboration

Throughout the world, dogs are well known for their ability to help mankind in many ways. They have been used for hunting, tracking, search and rescue, assisting the deaf and physically challenged, and leading the blind among many other things. The bond between man and dog has been evident for thousands of years, but only until recently has the idea of dogs aiding in the physical rehabilitation of humans come about. Dogs all across the United States are being specially trained and used in conjunction with physical therapy programs. These type of dogs fall under the category of “therapy dogs” (pictured to the left). There are two categories in which therapy dogs help humans- through Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). A.A.A. are just simple programs in which people and animals interact. On the other hand, A.A.T. involves the animal actually playing a crucial role in a person’s emotional or physical therapeutic activities. This is an involvement of physical therapy.

There are many ways in which dogs can be utilized in these special physical therapy programs. The dogs can play a very simplistic role in which they just walk with the patient or just sit while the patient pets them (as you can see in the lower two pictures). A more complex role the dog can play is to perform specific motions with the patient or play various interactive games such as catch. Many patients believe that these activities do not even feel like physical therapy, rather just normal everyday activities. Glenda Hinton, a 63 year old patient at the Forsyth Medical Center, suffered from a stroke which left her right hand curled and stiff. A therapy dog was introduced to her, and, with her injured hand, she began to pet the dog by raking her hand along its back. Glenda was more worried about hurting the dog with her stiff hand rather than paying attention to the fact she was actually receiving physical therapy. Moving her hand in various motions became essential to her therapy. Another hospital which is currently experimenting with utilizing dogs within their physical therapy programs is the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana. For the past six months, a seven year old golden retriever has been incorporated into the physical therapy program at least twice a month for pediatric rehab patients. Phyllis Comeaux, director of pediatric rehab services at the hospital, pointed out a benefit to the program, “sometimes they don’t realize that what they’re doing is therapeutic… their focus is on the dog.” In a nearby hospital, Lafayette General Hospital, a similar program has been experimented with for quite some time. A 90 year old patient who was admitted for therapy in the hospital, Betty Sirkis, interacted with a therapy dog during one of her physical therapy sessions. Betty played a game of fetch with the dog, where she threw a tennis ball and it would then go to retrieve it. The various movements involved in this simple activity are once again crucial to her rehabilitation. A therapist at the clinic commented that “with the dog, they’re not thinking about what they can’t do.”

This type of therapy is specifically beneficial to younger patients. A head trainer of a team of therapy dogs, Melissa Kielbasa, stated “therapy dogs … provide both emotional and physical therapy for kids. These dogs like to play and snuggle, and they make kids feel good.” Younger patients are often distracted and unwilling to perform therapy. It becomes a task and something they definitely want to avoid doing. With a dog being involved in the program, the younger patients are more willing to participate in the sessions and put forth effort into them as well. As for patients of all ages, they respond more positively and enthusiastically when a dog is involved; it makes the exercises seem more interesting, attractive, and enjoyable. Patients are also distracted from the pain that is associated with many exercises that they have to perform. There are many benefits to dogs being used in physical therapy programs, and it is exciting to see what the future holds for this interesting merge.