Marguerite Bogden tries to pet Maddie at the Utah State Veterans Nursing Home in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, August 15, 2012.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — As Noralyn Snow and her pal Maddie walk down the hall of the Veterans Nursing Home, where Snow is the administrator, they stop to chat with a pair of elderly veterans basking in the sun reflecting off the interior courtyard window.
The two residents beam at Maddie and one pats her head. "I love you," the elderly woman coos.
"That's her job, to be loved, and she's darned good at it," says Snow, scooping the diaper-clad baby red kangaroo into her arms. Maddie responds by kissing Snow, her surrogate mom.
The kangaroo, with her deer face, snaky tail, raccoon-like hands and jackrabbit feet, is not the only animal who prowls the halls of the nursing home, visiting residents and delighting relatives who visit. A pair of cats get their fair share of affection and Lucy the dog is a hit when she stops in the Alzheimer's unit. But Maddie is certainly the most unusual.
She provides a "wow" factor Snow said draws families and makes the place special, not a bleak health-care facility for those who live here, sometimes reluctantly.
"Studies say people die of loneliness and lack of spontaneity," said Snow, who brings Maddie in with her most weekdays. "She helps that. And animals make it so kids are not so afraid to come see grandpa in the nursing home."
Animal magnetism
Animals and their humans have been comforting and loving each other for ages, the bond nearly magical, said experts who use that connection to help frail or disadvantaged populations. Wags for Hope in Frederick, Md., boosts literacy by having children read to dogs. Washington-based Pet Partners has registered more than 11,000 people and their pets in 50 states and 13 countries to provide therapy in hospitals, hospice, special education programs, nursing homes and elsewhere.
Among the elderly, some programs welcome both trained therapy animals and friendly pets, so cats, dogs, birds and fish may be found in nursing homes. There's a difference between animal-assisted and animal-therapy activities and just having pets hang out — and some controversy we'll get to later — but they have some things in common, too.
18 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865562586/Animal-human-bond-especially-strong-with-frail-elderly-kids.html
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