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Pet Partners....reprinted from
Punta Gorda Life
Pets Helping People in Charlotte County
by
Dr. Brett Beckman
April, 2005
How far would
you have to travel to find kids
reading to pets and animals walking
the halls of
hospitals and nursing
homes? The answer is no further
than your own backyard! Gulf Coast
Pet Partners is a non-profit
organization composed of
compassionate people and loving pets
that take time out of their busy
schedules to give a little back to
the community. Founded by Dr. Linda Buettner director of the Center for
Positive Aging at Florida Gulf Coast
University, Gulf Coast Pet Partners
conducts up to 2000 visitations
monthly in Charlotte, Lee and
Collier Counties.
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John Murphy,
president of Gulf Coast Pet Partners
talks of the impact that Hurricane
Charley has had on visitations.
“Pet Partners was visiting 2000
friends a month including frail
older adults, children with special
needs, and people with mental
problems or chemical dependencies.
As was the case with many activities
in Charlotte County our program was
heavily impacted by Charley, and we
are working to get visitations back
to our previous level.”
Pet Partners is
a regional division of the Delta
Society, a national organization
founded in 1977 to foster the bond
between people, pets and
caregivers. Delta has fostered
research over the years that has
demonstrated the positive benefits
that pets have on the well being of
people. Three such proven benefits
are as follows: |
Individuals
recovering from heart attacks that
own pets have a higher survival rate
than non-pet owners. Pet owners have
lower levels of risk factors for
cardiovascular disease. Pet ownership
decreases blood pressure response to
mental stress.
Unfortunately
many of the people that would most
benefit from pet ownership are
unable to care for or house a pet.
These people are in mental health
facilities, hospitals and nursing
homes. That’s where Pet Partners
comes in. By sharing their pets
with people Pet Partners are able to
transfer these positive benefits to
those that they visit. By the way,
it doesn’t take fancy research to
see the positive benefits in the
eyes and the hearts of those that
they visit. Lois and Cassie Collins
relay this heartwarming story:
“When Cassie &
I visited Bon Secours with Beauty &
Freckles, one of the nurses brought
out a man in a wheelchair who had
Alzheimer’s....he didn't do any
talking until Cassie took Beauty by
him. We put a carrot in his hand,
which he fed to Beauty and started
talking about his past and how he
and his father used to deliver milk
by cart and horse. It was great and
the nurse agreed. We left with a
very good feeling inside ourselves
and we definitely made that
gentleman’s day.” Beauty and
Freckles…? Oh they are the horses
pictured below!
| Judy Peter,
Charlotte County coordinator
for Pet Partners shares a
similar experience.
“Following a stroke a new
patient at one of our
visitation facilities was
very depressed. She
did not respond to |
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much of anything and she had
not spoken since her stroke.
She was partially paralyzed
on her right side and could
not use her right hand. When
first approached by Sadie
and her handler the patient
refused to even acknowledge
them. When Sadie and her
handler went across the hall
to another patient, Sadie
sensed something and she
pulled her handler back
across the hall and put her
head in the lady's lap.
Slowly, very slowly, the
lady began to pet Sadie,
with her fingers just barely
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moving. This
paved the way as the first
step in a long road to
recovery. Sadie is an
exceptional dog. She
is involved in the READ
program, hospice care and
Pet Partners, She somehow
had a sense that the patient
needed her in a time of deep
depression and desperation.”
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Dogs that have
been certified in Charlotte County
range in size from a 5 pound
Yorkshire Terrier up to a 130 pound
New Foundland. Other animals that
are certified Pet Partners include a
cat and there are of course Beauty
and Freckles. At present
visitations include Bon Secuors
Assisted Living, Peace River Rehab
and Nursing Facility
Joy of Living
II, Royal Palm, Riverside
Behavioral, Deep Creek
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| Rehab and Nursing, HQM, Hospice House, Villa
Sans Souci and home visits. |
If you and your
pet are interested in being Gulf
Coast Pet Partners or if your
facility is interested in a
visitation program please contact
President John Murphy at:
Email:
murphjt41@earthlink.net
Phone: 941-639-5006
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