ELGIN — As the old adage says, “Dog is a man’s best friend.”
While that may bode true for the Griffith and Engeriser families, their canine companions – Bailey and Samson, respectively – share their friendship with patients, the staff, and visitors of Sherman Hospital.
Bailey (left) and Sampson along with their owners Nancy and Don Griffith (left, middle) and Judy Engeriser (right) visit with patients at Sherman Hospital to help on their road to recovery. (Photo by Rebecca Vazquez/Sun Day)
Bailey and Samson are two of 15 dogs who comprise the Animal-Assisted Therapy program at the Elgin hospital. The program, which started in 2006, carefully selects dogs and trainers “who have been trained to visit with the patients” – according to a document released by the hospital.
“As a hospital that cares for very sick patients, Sherman strives to ensure that the program’s health, safety and training requirements promote the well being of the patients as well as the handler teams,” the document states.
In order to qualify for the program, the handler must obtain certification as a therapy team through Therapy Dogs, Inc. (TDI), be willing to have the pet vaccinated for all health requirements, be willing to participate in the hospital’s temperament screening and obedience testing, commit to a hospital visit at least twice a month, and be willing to follow all the rules of the program.
Bailey, a 5-year-old labradoodle, received her certification from TDI in June 2009.
“We’ve had dogs of all sizes and all breeds, and we’ve involved some of them in obedience training, but this is the first time we’ve taken it to this point. It’s been a nice extension of the therapy training that we can make a continued use of it,” Donald Griffith said, adding he and his wife Nancy first became involved through enrolling in some courses after being encouraged by a friend.
“They were talking about this program and the entire spectrum of what dogs could be involved in as far as [a patient] progresses. We were somewhat interested, so we started the training,” Donald said.
The training, he adds, including three different programs, all which last about eight weeks – basic puppy obedience, an agility course, and a mass obedience class – taught the specifics of animal therapy.
“Once we had all the necessary certifications, we made a series of visits to a local hospital under supervision to see how Bailey would fit in. Then came Sherman, where we had to go through their program to get Bailey ready, make sure she could handle being with other dogs, and complete all the necessary medical testing,” Donald said.
Bailey can be seen making her rounds on the second and fourth Thursdays each month.
“A basic day,” Donald said, “is visiting one of the floors assigned to us, and the nurses give us the rundown of what rooms we’re allowed to visit and ones we aren’t. Before we go into any room, we ask if they would like a visit from the dog because they may have signed up but aren’t ready for the visit.
“Everyone loves her; they comment on how small she is, that she’s very fluffy and furry. Bailey just gives everyone the impression of a fluffy teddy bear. She loves to go meet people and wags her tail all the time. She is just a very friendly dog, the kind of dog that people want to pet.”
Samson, a three-year-old Maltese, is also the first dog for Judith Engeriser to be involved in the therapy program. She said a trainer in obedience school hand-selected Samson as a dog that might be good for the therapy program.
“We haven’t had a dog in a number of years, and this is our first small dog. Since we’re retired and had the time to do it, too, we wanted to lend our support,” Judith said.
Samson can usually be seen patrolling the halls of the cardiac floor every Monday.
“Some patients really love it. It’s a very uplifting experience for them because they may miss their dog or hadn’t had any company in a while,” Judith said, adding that Samson will usually see around 28 to 30 people per visit, which includes 15 patients.
While Judith didn’t wish to speculate on whether or not her family will continue with the program past Samson, since “he may outlive us,” she joked, Donald said he and Nancy will most likely continue.
“We’re sort of semi-retired, but we love animals, and it’s a nice way to share the joy that she gives us with other people. They can really benefit from the joy she gives,” he said.
According to Nancy Griffith, the 15 dogs enrolled in the program make over 450 patient visits a month. For more information on the program, or to see the current class enrolled in the therapy program, visit the hospital’s website at shermanhealth.com.
