Volunteer Carole Hughes and her pet therapy dog Finegan
鈥淲hen I looked in the room, I could see the dog and his owner were together, just looking at each other. There was no pain in the patient鈥檚 eyes, just connection.鈥�
By Devon Phillips. Even though Carole鈥檚 Golden Retriever, Finegan, had a tough first few years before he was rescued, Carole could see that Finegan鈥檚 calm and gentle disposition meant he would make an excellent pet therapy dog. For the last three years, patients and family members on the palliative care ward have enjoyed the weekly visits from Carole and Finegan.
Q: Let鈥檚 begin at the beginning. How did you and Finegan come to know each other?
A: Finegan is a rescue dog. A friend of mine found Finegan in a cage on Nun鈥檚 Island; he had been in the cage for two years. So my friend took him home, threw away the cage and said, 鈥淔inegan, you will never be in a cage again.鈥澨� My friend had Finegan for two years and he would come by the house with him so he could play with my little pug Mugsy. Then one day my friend seemed depressed and said, 鈥淐an you take Finegan?鈥� So that was how Fin became mine. He is a Golden Retriever. We don鈥檛 know his age for sure but we think he鈥檇 be about six now because he鈥檚 been with me for three years.
Q: What made you think that Finegan would be a good therapy dog?
A:听I just knew from his behavior after a few months. He is so quiet, so obedient, I think he might have been abused because if I come forward to him with a loud voice, he will back up and drop his head. If I call him, he comes right away. When he sees me he will come galloping over like a pony. When I take him off the leash if we are out, he will sit and wait at the curb until I say it鈥檚 okay to come.
Q: Is training required to be a pet听therapist?
A: Dogs are assessed at the Montreal General Hospital by two ladies who know dogs, Margrit Meyer and Pat Cameron. Pat trains and evaluates dogs professionally. So Finegan underwent a specific test which included being taken through hospital hallways and down where there is food and where there is a lot of noise, the kitchen, to see if he could handle noise and food. Finegan just ignored all this so he passed with flying colours. You don鈥檛 want a dog who smells food and then takes off, or a dog who jumps to high heaven when they hear a noise. He never went to dog obedience school; it is his character to be calm and obedient. Fin never growls, never barks. 听I think that retrievers have a reputation for being gentle Jims.
Q: 听Do you have any special memories of Finegan on the palliative care ward?
A: My first day alone with Fin on the ward, I walked into a gentleman鈥檚 room and he said, 鈥淐ould you bring the dog a little closer because I would like to pat his head.鈥澨� So I said, 鈥淐ome on Fin鈥� but Fin jumped into bed with this man! Oh no! So I said, 鈥淔in you get down now,鈥� but the man said, 鈥淣o it鈥檚 okay, you can leave him.鈥� Fin loves beds!
A year later I was visiting the ward with Fin. We went into a room and there was a gentleman out of bed sitting in a chair and his wife said, 鈥淎h le beau chien!鈥� This gentleman was patting his head and Fin just sat there, regal, and then I left because this gentleman was going home for the weekend. So I said, 鈥淵ou have a good weekend now,鈥� and I walked Fin to the room where the volunteers collect and the nurse came to get me to tell me that the man in room 10 wanted to see me. I said that I just been there. So when I went back, the man gave me five dollars. And I said, 鈥淣o, we don鈥檛 take money. We do this just to make you happy.鈥� But he insisted, so we took the five dollars and spent it on cookies for the other dogs. That was the day Fin got a tip! So that鈥檚 Fin鈥檚 claim to fame.
Q: Does Fin interact with everyone or does he zero in on the patient?
A: I lead him to the patient. I do not let him loose but if I did, I think he would stop at the first person who would pat his head.
Q: How often do you visit with Finegan and for how long?
A: Once a week and the length of time depends. The dogs get tired quite quickly. Maybe I鈥檒l do two rooms at a time, then take a break. There are those who like dogs and those who don鈥檛, so you say, 鈥淓xcuse me, would you like a little visit with a four-legged friend?鈥� Nine times out of 10, they want to pat the dog鈥檚 head. The dog is on the unit for about two hours, and some of the time lies on the floor. He loves every minute of the caressing that he gets. That鈥檚 the type of dog he is! He doesn鈥檛 mind the attention at all and he is a hard worker.
Q: Have you always had an affinity for dogs?
A: Yes, my whole life. What I like about dogs is their innocence. You look into a dog鈥檚 eyes and you see the unconditional love. I have always had a dog. I still have my pug Mugsy and even though he is diabetic and blind, he has adapted very well. Mugsy took to Fin immediately. They are excellent friends. If they are close to the sofa, it鈥檚 a race to see who will get up first. They are competitive and they are funny and I鈥檇 be so lonely without them.
Q; Why do you do pet therapy?
A: I want to give back. If bringing my dog here makes someone happy, why not?
Q: Had you heard about pet therapy before? How did you find out about it?
A: I always knew about pet therapy but I associated it more with children than the dying to tell you the truth.听 But when I returned to volunteering in palliative care, I was walking through the lobby of the Montreal General and I saw dogs and right away I thought of pet therapy. So I was given the name of Margrit Meyer and I called and said, 鈥淚 have a dog you might be interested in.鈥� That鈥檚 how Fin and I got started.
Q: What do you think the benefits are for the patients?
A: I think it conjures up fond memories of a loved dog to patients, and the feel of the fur is comforting because it鈥檚 warm. Patients often cannot speak but they will stare calmly at the dog. People want the connection with animals. I have people run after me asking me to bring Fin to see their mother or father or husband. It鈥檚 not just the patients but it鈥檚 the families who appreciate the dogs.
They say that the patting motion is very soothing. I have only done pet therapy on the palliative care unit but I think people on a geriatrics ward would enjoy this because they could talk to the dog. And I think pet therapy would be good for the people on the psychiatric ward.
I remember Dr. Balfour Mount coming in on a Sunday at the Vic with his Westie and he鈥檇 let that dog race through the hallway and that dog knew which patients had cookies! He鈥檇 beeline for those rooms.
Palliative care has changed. In the last few years, patients stay at home much longer than before so when they get here, they are very sick and less able to interact. But from my experience here, many patients and their families do enjoy having a visit by a dog. And for those who really like animals, they will ask the sons or the daughters to go and get the dog. But there are cultural differences 潭听 some cultures are not animal lovers so you have to be sensitive to that. Other people like other kinds of animals. I remember there was a lady in palliative care and her room was full of birds. I don鈥檛 know how many bird cages she had, but she would get up and take care of her birds.
Q: If Finegan could speak, what do you think he would say about visiting the palliative care unit?
A: I think he would say, 鈥淥kay we are going again, but don鈥檛 stay too long!鈥� He鈥檚 a people person, that鈥檚 for sure听 潭 听he is half dog, half human, and he is always happy to meet someone new.
Q: What鈥檚 it like after he has been on the ward? Can he tell you when he is tired?
A: He speaks to me with his eyes and if he is tired, he will lie down. I find he gets tired quite fast and when he needs to stop, he just lies down for a bit. And when we get home, I open the gate and he gallops in like a pony and then he waits for his supper. He sleeps on my bed.
Q: Does Finegan sleep with his head on your pillow?
A: (Gales of laughter!) Now that my pug is blind and he can鈥檛 get up on the bed, I pick him up and then he heads straight for the pillow. In the meantime, Fin has jumped up and placed his head on the pillow first! I鈥檒l say to Fin, 鈥淔or God鈥檚 sake Fin, will you give him some room?鈥� So he鈥檒l get up and turn around. They both want the pillow! Fin and Mugsy are the biggest buddies ever.
Q: Words of wisdom for anyone thinking about doing pet therapy with palliative care patients?
A: You have to be comfortable with death and dying. I don鈥檛 think that death and dying bothers animals; they don鈥檛 see it through the eyes of a human. It鈥檚 true that dogs are very aware of when things are not right, but I don鈥檛 think they perceive death.听
Dogs give so much to people. One Sunday I was told to secure the elevator for a visitor to palliative care and I found out the visitor was a Newfoundland dog, and that dog flew out of that elevator and directly into the right room where his owner was. His name was Izzie. I grabbed a bowl of water for him and when I looked in the room, I could see the dog and his owner were together, just looking at each other. There was no pain in the patient鈥檚 eyes, just connection. 听Later I was at a medical seminar and they asked, 鈥淗ave you ever seen anybody without pain?鈥� I put my hand up and I said, 鈥淵es, when the owner looked at his dog.鈥� That was Izzie and his owner, there was no pain and you could see it, you could feel it.
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