Ann Evans, left, with Sophie and Okie, and Virginia Lodge's activities officer Lynley Short. Photo/ Stuart Munro
Anne-Marie McDonald meets a woman and two dogs who give a very special kind of care to Whanganui's elderly.
WHEN Sophie is bathed by her owner Ann Evans, the golden retriever knows it's time to go to work.
Sophie and younger brother, Okie Dokie, also a golden retriever, are pet therapy dogs who accompany Ann on her visits to retirement homes in Whanganui, Palmerston North and Feilding.
"Because we live on a farm, I always give them a bath and a brush the day before we go. So they get quite excited because they know where we're going," Ann said.
Sophie and Okie are members of Canine Friends, and are two of several hundred pet therapy dogs who visit patients and residents in hospitals, hospices and rest homes throughout the country.
Canine Friends has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. The organisation was set up on the back of research showing that people who are stressed, lonely, unhappy or unwell benefit from the natural affection of friendly dogs.
Canine Friends' motto is "dogs helping people".
"I've heard that stroking a dog or a cat makes your blood pressure go down, and that might be true. But it just makes you feel good," Ann said.
"We can go into a room of people who are just sitting there, and as soon as they see the dogs they light up."
Ann and her dogs travel monthly from their Ohingaiti farm to visit residents at Virginia Lodge and Broadview rest homes.
Watching Sophie and Okie making their way round residents sitting in the Virginia Lodge lounge, it's obvious they are popular visitors, and receive lots of pats and cuddles.
"I always look forward to seeing the dogs," 94 year old Doris Thomson said.
Lynley Short, activities officer at Virginia Lodge, said most of the residents would echo Doris's words.
"Most of them are animal lovers -some aren't, and that's okay - but a lot are."
Lynley said Ann was very devoted to her monthly visits and she and the dogs had become part of the rest home's regular programme.
"It gives [the residents] something to look forward to.
"A lot of the residents have had dogs during their lives. Some of them had to give up their dogs when they moved in here. So having dogs come to visit is huge for them."
But it's at Broadview, with its more high-dependency residents, that Okie and especially Sophie, come into their own.
"Broadview has the dementia and the mental health wards, and we focus on those areas. Many of those people can't get out of bed, so I'll take the dog into their room.
The dog will sit quietly next to the bed, or put their head on the bed."
Ann says Okie is everybody's friend, while Sophie reserves her affection for those she feels need her the most.
"I had Sophie with me in the dementia ward. We met one man who immediately said, 'I don't like dogs.' I said, 'That's fine, but this is Sophie, anyway.' And he looked and her and said, 'Sophie is my friend. She's not a dog, she's my friend.' But when I took Okie, he would not let him into the room.
"I don't know how Sophie does it. She can make anyone fall in love with her."
Ann has also experienced situations in which one of her dogs has persuaded someone to talk.
"Sometimes when a person goes into a rest home they shut down and won't communicate with anyone. The nursing staff don't know how to help them. The dog can go in there, sidle up, and the person starts talking. When you see it happen, it's an incredible experience."
A dog is often a good way of breaking the ice, Ann said.
"I can walk into a room and ask someone how they are and what they've been doing, and not get a very positive response.
But if I have the dogs with me they become engaged in the conversation. I find they start telling me things. They'll tell me what sort of dog they used to have.
Some of the more able-bodied ones will get down on the floor to cuddle the dogs.
"No one remembers me - I'm just the one that drives them. It's all about the dogs."
ANN got her first dog just after she was married. It was eight years ago, when Sophie was 2years old and taking "canine good citizen" classes in Feilding, that another woman in the class suggested pet therapy.
"She said to me, 'I think your dog would be good at pet therapy'."
When Okie came along he also became a pet therapy dog.
Ann said Okie and Sophie have very different styles of working.
"Okie loves big crowds and lots of people. He'll get a cuddle from everyone.
Sophie doesn't like that sort of situation - she likes to be one on one, and she often has a sense of when someone needs her.
"She'll put her head on their knee and look up at them with her big, brown eyes, and you can see that connection between them."
Unlike guide dogs or police dogs, pet therapy dogs don't have specialised training. And nor do they need specialised skills, Ann said.
"It doesn't matter what breed of dog you have, whether they're big or little.
We have anything from great danes to chihuahuas that sit on knees - although the pitbull type dog is probably not ideal."
Pet therapy dogs should be "calm and cruisy, not aggressive and barking". Older dogs are usually better than puppies.
"We have to look after the people we visit, so we can't have a dog that jumps up on people. Older people are often frail and their skin is more fragile, so if you have a dog bouncing around it can cause all sorts of havoc."
Ann said dogs have to be able to cope with being "patted and poked and cuddled" by lots of strangers.
Volunteers who are interested in being involved with Friends must be assessed by the coordinator in their area.
The coordinator meets with the dog and the owner in a public place and gets to know them a little. Then they are taken to a suitable rest home for a trial run.
"It doesn't always work out," Ann said.
"Sometimes the dog turns out to be not suitable.
Or you can get someone with a gorgeous dog, but the person isn't suitable.
The owner has to be assessed as well; it's important that they are able to talk well to the people they're visiting."
Ann said both she and the dogs love their regular visits.
"I'm a volunteer and the dogs don't get anything for it either except pats and cuddles. But they love it and are always ready to go.
"It's just a good feeling to know that you've brought a smile to someone's face - that makes it worth it."
¦To find out how you and your dog can be part of Canine Friends, go to www.caninefriends.org.nz.