Molly helps out anyone needing support at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
She might ride the moving part of a CT scanner to show children not to be afraid and will sometimes serve as a distraction during procedures such as IV placements. She’s even been around for more difficult moments, including last rites.
She’ll do whatever is required of her, but mostly she just snuggles.
“She just loves to give love,” said CHOC pet therapy volunteer Katie Mundia of her 20-pound Maltipoo, a pet therapy dog certified through Pet Partners.
Mundia recalled a visit with one particular child. When Mundia gave Molly her release command, which meant they were leaving, Molly stayed put and placed her head on the child’s shoulder. Suddenly, the child had a light seizure. Once the seizure had passed and the child had petted Molly some more, Molly stood up, ready to go.
“She just knows what to do,” Mundia said.
It’s likely no big surprise to pet lovers that animals can have a stress-reducing and mood-elevating effect. They can help children who have a variety of conditions and diseases. Thanks to organizations such as Pet Partners and Canine Companions for Independence, pets’ natural soothing abilities can be taken a step further and integrated into therapy and service.
Animals can be trained for jobs such as visiting facilities like CHOC for emotional support, helping with speech therapy, and being full-on service dogs that perform a multitude of tasks for those with disabilities.
Regardless of their level of training, they have one thing in common: their ability to inspire smiles from those they visit.
Lexi Padilla of San Clemente and her 12-year-old son, Dylan, graduated from Canine Companions for Independence with their skilled companion dog, Ode, in 2013. They brought home a trained canine that knew 50 high-level commands, including opening and closing doors and snuggling. But even more essential, they brought home a true companion for Dylan, who has autism.
“She’s very in tune with him,” Padilla said of the Labrador-golden retriever.
In addition to providing companionship, Ode is a part of Dylan’s therapy, including working with his language, sensory and social skills, and improving his ability to manage disruptive emotions and impulses. When Dylan has a tantrum or outburst, it’s difficult for him to self-regulate. Now that Ode is around, Dylan has her to pet or play with as a break from his emotions.
“He’s learning that self-regulation piece without even knowing he’s learning it,” Padilla said.
In public, Ode calms Dylan’s social anxiety and attracts other children, enabling Dylan to interact more with his peers.
“He gets to practice all of those skills we try to teach in therapy,” his mother said.
Tom Tackett, president of Tackett Service Dogs Inc. in Orange, which trains service dogs for children with autism, says these dogs can have a very calming effect.
“It really settles them,” he said. “Kids with autism often like to have pressure on their body. … So the dog will come and lay on them.”
Meredith Reuter, therapy dog handler for the Animal Health Foundation in Lake Forest, became part of the Reading Education Assistance Dogs program with her miniature Australian shepherd, Reba, after two of her children were diagnosed with dyslexia and she saw the benefits that reading to a dog could have on children.
“I have seen children who have little confidence reading – in some situations, if English is their second language or if they struggle to read, they feel comfortable reading to a dog while they pet or sit next to the dog,” Reuter said. “The dog does not judge if they don’t read a word correctly. It can help them improve their reading and communication skills and also teach them to love books and reading.”
Speech-language pathologist Jennifer Yost received Labrador-golden retriever Pita from Canine Companions for Independence in 2014 to help her work with children age 18 months to 13 years at Children’s Learning Connection in Orange for conditions ranging from autism to developmental delays and phonological disorders. Pita knows 50 commands, including “Jenga,” which instructs the dog to pull out a Jenga block. She can also turn pages of a book with her nose and “draw” by holding a marker in her mouth.
Pita is also great at comforting.
“She will often approach a crying child and nudge them or put her head in their lap, which brings a smile to their face and allows us to continue the session,” Yost said.
