Light Up Faces on Dog Day | Corwell Health

Twice a month, a special parade walks through the aisles of Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

It always happens on Tuesdays. Also, marchers are always four-legged. All the way through the parade, faces light up when you see them.

“It’s not just the kids,” said Shari Duthler. The nurses and staff’s faces light up, too. You can hear them call out, “It’s dog day!”

Duthler, office coordinator and chief liaison for the Therapy dogs in western michiganworked with Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital to bring therapy dogs into the world of patients.

They visit emergency departments, hospital libraries, activity rooms, and more, always with the goal of helping to soothe and cheer up young patients.

West Michigan Therapy Dogs was founded in 2001.

“We currently have 170 workers and 200 dogs in our program,” said Duthler. Many rescues and they range from a 3lb Yorkie to a 170lb Great Dane.

“Dogs are trained to provide comfort and not be upset about anything.”

This means that dogs do a great job in many different environments, where any variety of stimuli may compete for their attention.

Dogs used in pet therapy are chosen for their easy-going personalities, Duthler said. They then undergo extensive training with their handlers, who are also their owners.

A recent study entitledEffects of contact with a dog on prefrontal brain activity: a controlled trial,” published in Plos One, suggests that live therapy interactions between humans and animals may enhance cognitive and emotional activity in the brain.

“Even the mere presence of dogs cheers people up,” he said. Adele Kadio, PsyD, a child psychologist with Corewell Health, Behavioral Health and Neurosciences. “You can see behavior change in children as well as adults right away.”

She said her team is even noticing the calming effect of pets in teletherapy sessions.

Calm down the presence of pets

“You can see the impact on their screens,” Duthler said. “Blood pressure and heart rates go right down and smiles come out.”

A Plos One study showed that the benefits of animal-assisted therapy extend to diseases of the nervous system, such as strokes, seizure disorders, brain trauma, and infections.

While the study only used dogs, Dr.

Each animal has its own characteristics and different patients MAssociate with a different animal. “

In the study, researchers used a portable brain scanner to measure changes in the brain, particularly the frontal cortex, when humans interact with dogs. The scanners measured changes in the oxygen saturation of the blood in the brain.

Brain stimulation heightened when the dogs approached the human participant and intensified when the person petted the dog.

The frontal cortex of the brain region is involved in executive functions such as attention, memory, and problem-solving. But it is also involved in social and emotional processes.

“When we bring our dogs into the emergency department at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, we may see children who have attempted suicide,” Doethler said. “Therapists are trained not to say anything. It’s none of our business.”

She said they let the dogs near the children and the children often bury their faces in the dog’s fur.

“Dogs don’t judge—they bring unconditional love,” Duthler said.

Paws on fear

Duthler said the positive response became evident even in children who were afraid of dogs. Handlers flip dogs so kids don’t have to face a dog’s mouth with all those creepy teeth.

“They may pet the end of the tail first, just to get comfortable,” Dathler said. “And soon they pet the whole dog. They get over their fear. We see it over and over again.”

Dogs are also used with young patients who are resistant to taking medication or are in pain, Doethler said. The dog stays next to the child for two hours.

“It may take that long, but then we see the child stop resisting the medication and take it,” she said. “We have the best gig in the world. The dealers and I feel like we get more than we give.”

The new study adds to a growing body of research on pet therapy, and shows positive results in terms of limb dexterity; improve social performance and interaction; Reduction in stress, anxiety and loneliness. and improve balance.