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Rx: Head Pats and Hand Licks: Dogs Help Patients Feel Less Anxiety About Doctor Visits

Posted on: Saturday, 4 February 2006, 15:00 CST

By Marshall Hood, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Feb. 4--CHILLICOTHE -- In the often-cold and assembly-line environment of the health-care system, a patient welcomes a friendly face -- even one with a cold nose and a wet tongue.

Lilly and Maggie serve as "patient-relations directors" in the office of Drs. Frank Cosentino and Francis Ramos, kidney and hypertension specialists.

Beyond that of meeters and greeters, the 2-year-old chocolate Labrador retrievers fill a more vital role.

"Patients are afraid," Cosentino said.

"They come in (with the thought) 'What's going to happen to me? Am I going to die?'

"These two help ease anxiety. They're great icebreakers, and they keep people comfortable. The dogs like it, too."

In such settings, medical and animal experts agree, dogs calm humans -- thanks to what's known as the "fur factor."

A study in November at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center found that the anxiety of heart patients dropped 24 percent during bedside visits by canines.

Human visitors triggered only a 10 percent dip.

Moreover, after 12 minutes with therapy dogs, patients showed improved cardiac function: Pressure in the heart and lungs dropped, as did levels of harmful hormones in the blood.

Such dogs are used in several central Ohio hospitals and increasingly in schools, nursing homes, hospices and rehabilitation centers, said Judy Myers of Canine Companions of Delaware, which trains "facility dogs."

Still, she said, only rarely are dogs found in a physician's practice.

Helen Smith, 79, of Frankfort was taken aback the first time she was met by the two lumbering Labs.

"Surprise! I had never seen a dog in a doctor's office before," she said. "But I like it. I look forward to seeing them, and I'm disappointed when they're not here."

Lilly and Maggie apparently feel the same about their friend, who visits every couple of months with treats in her purse.

They get even more excited when her daughter -- patient Brenda McKee, 56, also of Frankfort -- accompanies her.

"I usually bring them big rawhide bones," McKee said as the panting dogs flanked the women, in their wheelchairs.

"Their being here just makes me not dread coming to the doctor as much."

Office fixtures since puppyhood, Lilly and Maggie began training at 9 weeks to become therapy dogs; they are expected to be certified next month by the American Kennel Club.

"They need to know how to interact with people in wheelchairs and walkers, and in a medical setting," said their trainer, Julie Hosley of Johnstown.

Their routine is already impressive: The dogs meet patients at the front door and walk them to the check-in area. When patients are called, the dogs escort them to -- and sometimes join them in -- the examination rooms.

They also take patients to the nearby kidney-dialysis center and wait there during the hours-long process.

Both are trained to back off with frightened visitors.

"It's happened once or twice," said Cosentino's wife and office manager, Cindy. "We gave the command 'Leave it,' which they know to leave something alone, and I took them to my office."

The furry pair has earned a sweetheart status.

Even staff members from the adjacent Adena Regional Medical Center stop in for a quick dose of pet therapy.

And, during the holidays, the dogs were inundated with cards and gifts.

"When they come to work, they're in serious 'work mode,' " Mrs. Cosentino said. "At home, they'll just run around and play."

She came up with the idea of a dog in the office when the couple worked at the Cleveland Clinic, before they moved to central Ohio in 2003.

They were impressed by the calming effect that a technician's dog had on dialysis patients.

After researching breeds, she found a Lab breeder in the town of Mendon -- and Maggie.

"Then one of the medical assistants said, 'If you get one, you might as well get two,' " she said. "And we got Lilly."

A portrait of the two hangs in a hallway -- a gift from Chillicothe photographer Whit Streicher and his wife, Pam.

A year ago, she donated a kidney to her husband.

Streicher credits Lilly and Maggie with easing the strain and pain of their pre-transplant ordeal.

"Dialysis four hours a day, three days a week, for four months . . . and (office visits) every three or four weeks -- it was not a good situation," he said. "But the dogs made me feel more comfortable."

The experience also helped the couple by inspiring them to get a dog.

"It forced us to get out and walk despite the pain," Mrs. Streicher said. "It was very therapeutic."

Not surprisingly, they chose a chocolate Lab -- Libby, a half sister to Lilly and Maggie.

mhood@dispatch.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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