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Martin Lawing of Morganton, N.C.,with his assistance dog, PhantomMaking Therapy FunAnimal-assistedtherapy brings joyand helps patientsmeet their goals.About all John Roberts,43, remembers about hisfirst visit with Mazie, a3-year-old Rottweiler,is that the dog snuggled up againsthis leg, acting as if John had been thedog’s best friend forever.At their second meeting, John, aShepherd Center brain injury patientfrom Acworth, Ga., and Mazie, an animal-therapydog from Cosby’s TherapyAnimals in Marietta, Ga., were friendlyagain. Their rapport prompted Johnto use his fractured, but healing, rightarm to pet the dog, and that addressedone of his therapy goals.John, who sustained a brain injuryand broke his arm in a dirt bikeaccident in April 2009, was a participantin Shepherd’s Animal-AssistedTherapy Program. The program,which is funded by generous donors,helps in the rehabilitation of both spinalcord and brain injury patients.The program’s initial goal with Johnwas to make him comfortable communicatingwith the dog – showing affection,as well as giving commands, saysAshley Haynes, the lead recreationtherapist for Shepherd’s AcquiredBrain Injury Program. Early in theirrehabilitation, brain injury patientscommonly feel more comfortable talkingto dogs than to people.“Bringing in dogs brings up pastmemories, details and gets them going8 www.shepherd.orgshepherd center annual report 2009
“There’s a natural interaction between someone who loves dogs and the dog.The patient usually doesn’t even recognize it as therapy.”— Ashley Haynesverbally,” Ashley explains. “There’sa natural interaction between someonewho loves dogs and the dog. Thepatient usually doesn’t even recognizeit as therapy.”Indeed, John didn’t recognize itas such at first. But by the time ofhis second visit with Mazie, therewas no disguising what Ashley andpet therapist Kellie Cosby wanted toaccomplish.“This is also distraction therapy,”Ashley explains. “Johndoes not focus on the pain inhis right side when he’s just pettingMazie.”Here’s how the second visitplayed out:Kellie brings out a bag of toysfor Mazie, the dog gets excitedand John gets a bit cautious.“I can throw it to her with myleft arm,” John says, smiling.“Maybe you can use both arms,”Kellie suggests.“I can toss it a little,” John replies.John reaches with his right armto take the chew toy out of the bagand, as instructed, squeezes the toy,using both hands, and gets Mazieready to catch the toy in mid-air.Using his right arm, John tosses thetoy a couple of feet high and a coupleof feet long. The effort is a bit halfhearted,but quickly improves.After about the third try, John useshis whole arm to underhand toss thetoy, far enough and high enough toreally engage Mazie. She responds bybringing the toy to John and snugglingagainst his right leg.One last physical challenge remains.“I want you to play tug-of-war withMazie using the toy,” Kellie tells John.He grabs the toy with both hands, andMazie grabs it with her teeth. The contestdoesn’t last long, but that’s OK.It gets a laugh out of John, who clearlyenjoys his therapy with Mazie.“You got me on that,” John tellsMazie after about three seconds oftug-of-war.John went home to his family andhis own two dogs – German shepherdsElli and Zena – after about a monthas an inpatient at Shepherd. Later, hereturned for the day therapy program.Animal-assisted therapy worksbecause it’s fun for both the dog andthe patient, Kellie notes. “The breedJohn Roberts of Acworth, Ga., with animal-assistedtherapy dog Mazie, Kellie Cosby of Cosby’s TherapyAnimals and Ashley Haynes of Shepherd Centeris not particularly important,” sheadds. “The ability to have a wide rangeof obedience and to genuinely enjoypeople and have physical stamina isimportant.”In addition to animal-assistedtherapy at Shepherd, some patientsare referred to Canine Assistantsin Alpharetta, Ga. They train andthen place dogs – mostly golden andLabrador retrievers – to do varioustasks for their owners, who havelimited mobility. These tasks includeswitching lights on and off, openingand closing doors, pulling wheelchairs,retrieving dropped objects and summoningfor help. Assistance dogs alsolessen feelings of fear, isolation andloneliness that can be common aftersustaining a catastrophic injury.No doubt, Mazie and other therapyor assistance animals like her willcontinue to bring joy and success intherapy to many Shepherd patients inthe future.making therapy funn e w www.shepherdTV.org9
Page 3 and 4: Dear Donors,Fiscal year ’08-’09
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Page 13 and 14: Steve HollemanTammy KingEnglish, sa
Page 15 and 16: 2009 Donations by Volunteer Hours25
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Reviewers from The Joint Commission recently ... - Shepherd Center

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