Unconditional love

Diana Teeter and her dog, Emmy, are on a quest to spread joy to those who need it most.

The Hollidaysburg resident brings her 11-year-old Shetland sheepdog to visit area nursing home residents and hospice care patients at least once a week, making a difference in people's lives, one smile at a time.

"It's just something that I had an interest in doing, and my mother, being in a personal care home, was a starting point for me," Teeter, a retired insurance business owner, said. "I could just see the joy and the pleasure the residents received from the visits. It brings back many good memories for them and takes their minds off the aches and pains of the day."

Emmy has been a certified pet therapy dog for nine years and, over the last few years, has garnered 250 documented therapy visits through New Jersey-based Therapy Dogs International Inc., Teeter said, adding they also are celebrating three years as hospice volunteers through the Altoona branch of AseraCare Hospice.

"We went to Butler in Beaver County nine years ago and did the actual canine therapy testing, and (Emmy) passed the test," Teeter said. "Then, we were certified to go into nursing homes. But not all nursing homes require you to be certified. Many of them welcome you with open arms. They love pets."

Gayle Kleinosky, volunteer coordinator at AseraCare, Altoona, said the center's pet therapy program offers trained volunteers and their certified pets the chance to visit with terminally ill patients to help brighten the last days of their lives.

"The patients like the companionship because they can no longer have their own dog," Kleinosky said. "And if somebody has had a dog at home, that means they're a dog lover. And any dog lover will take to any dog - even if it's not their own. When they see Emmy, it reminds them of a pet they could not keep or a pet they had as a child."

Helen Kruise, an 82-year-old hospice patient at Golden Living Center-Hillview in Altoona, is one of the patients who relishes Emmy's company.

"I just like it," she said. "I like it because I just like to see her. She makes me feel good. I don't know what it is, she just makes me happy."

And it doesn't matter to her that Emmy is someone else's dog, she said, because whenever she gets the chance to kiss, hug and hold the dog, her heart flutters with joy.

"She's my pet," she said. "I love Emmy."

The emotional benefits patients derive from dogs or other animals are difficult to measure, but what experts do know is that animals allow humans to focus, even for a short period of time, on something other than themselves, Ralph Hamer, spiritual care coordinator at AseraCare in Altoona, said.

Moreover, the mere presence of a dog may facilitate interactions with a non-communicative patient and assist in memory recall in patients with degenerative conditions of the brain such as Alzheimer's disease.

"It provides the patient or resident with contact to unconditional love - or maybe a renewed connection with an old pet," he said. "They get a new sense of life they don't otherwise get in the facilities. They see people going in and out, but there's just something different about an animal coming in. It's the novelty of it - especially if you can get a dog that likes to do tricks like rolling over ... It just gives them a reason to laugh for the day - add some encouragement.

"For volunteers, it always seems to be a way that they can relate," he said. "If the person's not really sure what to say, the animal speaks for them. ... You come and and they say, 'How cute. Can I pet him?' - and there's your starting point."

To qualify for pet therapy assistance at most hospice centers, dogs must be pet-therapy certified through the Delta Society, Therapy Dogs International Inc., Therapy Dogs Inc. or any other nonprofit, volunteer organization that tests and certifies animals, Kleinosky said, adding owners must offer proof that the dog has liability insurance, is up to date on vaccinations and is bathed and cleaned prior to each visit. The owner also is required to attend a volunteer training session, with the option of bringing their dog. The dog must be at least one year of age and go through a temperament evaluation.

There are more than 21,000 dog/handler teams registered with TDI, according to its Web site. The organization registers all breeds of dogs, including pedigrees, rescue dogs and those adopted from local shelters.

"It's just such a rewarding thing to do, and the patients and residents are so appreciative of your visits," Teeter said. "On the way out, I really feel like I made these people happy for the day."

Mirror Staff Writer Jimmy Mincin is at 946-7460.

For more information on becoming a volunteer for AseraCare's Altoona branch pet therapy program, call 1-800-598-1704 or 941-2900, visit www.aseracare.com or send e-mail to ask ask@aseracare.com.