Hero Dogs facility dogs assist people in ways distinct from other types of working and service dogs. In partnership with a trained handler employed by the facility, they work full-time with staff to achieve specific treatment or program goals through animal-assisted therapy.
Sunrise of Carroll's Rehabilitation Department was happy to bring Murph on board to help engage the residents in physical activity, as well as emotional support for the elderly population. Murphy achieves this goal alongside his handler/owner, occupational therapist Jennifer, and physical therapist Lisa, in several different ways:
- providing emotional support and sitting with those who need comfort throughout the day;
- engaging in games of fetch to encourage residents to attend and participate in therapy appointments;
- promoting mobility by going for walks around the halls with the residents alongside their rollator, rolling walker, or cane;
-
working with those in wheelchairs— sitting next to them in standard chairs and lying next to their bed if needed.
Hero Dogs Murph's handlers noted that telling residents "Murphy is here—let's go see him" often aids in the initiation of therapy appointments.
Murphy likes to play simple games that support therapeutic goals, like holding a target bucket for bean bag toss. If a resident misses the bucket, Murph picks up the bean bag and hands it back for another try.
His human Jennifer states, "Murphy has brought so much joy to this community, especially in this time of a global pandemic when we were locked down for months on end.
"He was a bit of family and normalcy for these older adults, and comfort for the front line workers. Murphy is the happiest when he gets to come to work each day for lots of cuddles."
