THE EDGE - June 1st, 2009 : Pets@home - When The Doctor Is A Dog
ABOVE : A 5-year-old labrador Dr Kylie and her guardian, visiting the special children at Damansara Utama Methodist Church
Assessing canines for an animal-assisted therapy programme
One will consult and seek treatment from a medical doctor when physically ill. But what if one needs psychological nurturing and companionship that goes beyond physical attention and care?
There is a saying that a dog is a man’s best friend. Dogs with good temperaments are being employed as “doctors” to bring cheer to “patients” in disabled centres, homes for the young and elderly and orphanages on a voluntary basis. An animal-assisted therapy (AAT) programme called Dr Dog was introduced in Hong Kong by the Animals Asia Foundation in 1991. Here in Malaysia, Dr Dog was started in 2007 and Furry Friends Farm is the only establishment authorised by Animals Asia Foundation to assess a canine’s suitability for the programme.
Furry Friends Farm’s founder Sabrina Yeap says obedience training is not a prerequisite for a dog to join the programme. “The AAT programme doesn’t emphasise formal training and there is no requirement for it because not every dog owner can afford the time and the fee. What is more important is that the dogs are obedient and understand basic commands given by their owners,” she explains.
First Dr Dog
Furry Friends Farm held its first Dr Dog examination in June 2007 and Yeap says more mongrels should be involved in the programme.
“Our first Dr Dog, Dr Gideon, was a mixed breed while our second Dr Dog, Dr Babe, is a pure mongrel. We would like to tell the public that mongrels can also be involved in this programme. In fact, we can help reduce the number of stray dogs if we put them to good use,” she says.
“Currently, most of our Dr Dog visits are led by mongrels, but more pedigrees are coming in for the qualification test,” she says, adding that the third Dr Dog is a Labrador. The programme involves only dogs as other animals may have different temperaments and are not as reliable.
Assessing a dog’s suitability
Yeap says there are two parts to the qualification test. Basically, the dog is assessed on its temperament. In the first test, the examiner will conduct a gentle touch test on the dog. “We pinch, touch and cuddle the dog. It can only proceed to the second test after it passes the first one,” she says.
The second test includes harder pinching and touching and cuddling the dog for a longer time. “We will also make loud noises to see if the candidate gets excited and runs all over the place. Some pedigrees will bite the examiner if they don’t like the rougher handling. If a dog snaps at the examiner, it will be disqualified immediately,” Yeap adds.
The Dr Dog examination is held every six months or every three months if there is demand.
“The assessment must be done in an air-conditioned and closed-up room, so we usually have it at Pets Safari, The Curve. The Dr Dog programme examines the relationship between the owner and the pet, thus we encourage owners to come with their dogs for the test,” Yeap says.
The examination is free of charge. When the dog passes the test, the owner will need to pay RM35 for a Dr Dog T-shirt as well as tags for both dog and owner.
Dr Babe, a male mongrel, is the second Dr Dog in Malaysia
Home visits
Qualified Dr Dogs must attend at least one one-hour home visit each month. Furry Friends Farm will arrange two regular home visits for them every month.
“Our targets are youths, elderly people, orphans, handicapped people, mentally disturbed patients as well as rehab centres. Every visit will last only one hour as we don’t want the dogs to be too tired,” Yeap says, adding that a token of appreciation and a trophy for the outstanding Dr Dog will be given out every year.
Dr Gideon, the first Dr Dog in Malaysia. It passed away in September 2008 after an illness
A pilot study on the effect of Dr Dog visits on the behaviour of a group of mentally handicapped adults shows that there was a marked increase in patient initiative, verbal communication, involvement in activities and behaviour indicating pleasure as well as higher co-operation with the staff and other patients.
News reports show that the Dr Dog therapy has helped children in Hong Kong to develop their English skills and confidence through the specially designed “Professor Paws” lessons. Dr Dogs do not provide medication, but they leave behind a sense of well-being in their patients after a visit. In a way, they are part of the healing profession, too!
Sources taken from THE EDGE MALAYSIA, 1st June 2009 : When the doctor is a dog