Denver Pet Therapy: Making a Difference

March 16, 2008

DENVER – Increasingly, therapists use pets to help their patients recover from trauma. But for one golden retriever, being the therapist helped her with her own recovery.

“She was really stressed when we got her. Her fur started to fall out because she was unsure where she was,” said Amy McCullough, Bailey, the golden retriever’s owner.

McCullough and her husband found Bailey five years ago at a golden retriever rescue club in Denver.

According to McCullough, Bailey is very docile – to the point that she appears lazy.

“She was so calm when we got her,” said McCullough.

“It was love at first sight.”

Soon after bringing her home, Bailey’s gentle nature became apparent, and that got McCullough thinking.

“I thought we should do something she’s such a good dog,” she said. “So I started talking with people and I heard about animal assisted therapy, so I did research and learned that with proper training and certification, dogs can go into these different types of facilities and visit so I thought, she’d be great at this.”

Bailey’s been on the job for a few years now, but she only started working with nine-and-a-half-year-old Louis last fall.

They meet at the mental health center of Denver, a sort of sanctuary for children who have been in difficult situations. It’s a place of recovery, or healing.

“I think a lot of our children who have had trauma and abuse have a hard time trusting adults,” said Carri King, Child and Family Therapist at MHCD. “And if you come with an animal, they are great social facilitators. They make kids feel safe and they’re more willing to engage in a conversation when an animal is present.”

King said she’s noticed a remarkable difference in Louis since he’s been working with Bailey.

“Louis’ goals were to improve his conflict resolution skills, improve self esteem and to teach him some assertiveness skills that he would be able to carry with him when he goes back to public school,” she said.

Before Bailey could work as a therapy pet, she and McCullough had to go to school and get certified, which is not easy for just any dog, cat, horse or guinea pig.

First and foremost, the animal needs to have basic obedience skills down cold.

Secondly, the animal needs t o enjoy being around people and have the ability to react and respond well to everyone – from people with disabilities to men with beards in hats.

The last piece of the puzzle is the handler – that person must be able to recognize their animal’s stress level and be able to handle any of the physical requirements working with the disabled sometimes entails.

“We’re all volunteers and so this is something that we do on the side with our animal,” said McCullough.

Kind credits Bailey’s for Louis’ early graduation from the program. Not only can he now assert himself with the dog, but has also improved his conflict resolution skills and raised his self-esteem.

“I think the strength of a human-animal bond is an incredible adjunct therapy that clinicians can use, especially when working with kids with mental health issues,” said King.

According to psychiatric research, pet therapy reduces stress and anxiety for patients with mental health problems, with the added benefit of changing behaviors and creating a sense of responsibility.

“She helped me show patience,” said Louis, whose full name cannot be released. “And perseverance.”

And for Bailey, that’s all in a day’s work.

Denver Pet Partners works in conjunction with American Humane, an organization working to improve the conditions of animals and children.

To find out more about Denver Pet Partners, visit their Web site at denverpetpartners.org.

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