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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/22/dogs-hospital-royal-college-nursing-health
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| The Royal College of Nursing is spot on – dogs absolutely belong in hospitals | The Royal College of Nursing is spot on – dogs absolutely belong in hospitals |
| (7 months later) | |
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| Thu 22 Jun 2017 13.31 BST | |
| Last modified on Wed 20 Sep 2017 23.05 BST | |
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| Hospital is rarely the most relaxing or cheery of places, but the Royal College of Nursing has just come up with a suggestion that might well improve your stay – allow the dogs in. Not just any old dog, of course. They wouldn’t be bounding in fresh from the garden or park, trampling excrement, spraying slobber and germs about. These would probably be calm, trained therapy dogs, to soothe patients and aid recovery – mental and physical. | Hospital is rarely the most relaxing or cheery of places, but the Royal College of Nursing has just come up with a suggestion that might well improve your stay – allow the dogs in. Not just any old dog, of course. They wouldn’t be bounding in fresh from the garden or park, trampling excrement, spraying slobber and germs about. These would probably be calm, trained therapy dogs, to soothe patients and aid recovery – mental and physical. |
| Sounds good to me. I might have been a little worried that the dogs would accidentally dislodge a delicate and vital bit of tubing, or jump on an injured body part, but that wouldn’t happen with an efficient handler about. And my personal experience is that dogs tend to know when and when not to bounce around. I’ve seen a Reading Education Assistance dog treat every child differently. He danced around to perk up a sad one, lay down to calm a jittery one, kept his distance from a nervous one, got close to and kissed a peaky-looking tatty one, who looked as if he badly needed some affection, apparently instinctively. His handler gave no instructions. And the children all started reading to the dog. Which they wouldn’t do for anyone else. | Sounds good to me. I might have been a little worried that the dogs would accidentally dislodge a delicate and vital bit of tubing, or jump on an injured body part, but that wouldn’t happen with an efficient handler about. And my personal experience is that dogs tend to know when and when not to bounce around. I’ve seen a Reading Education Assistance dog treat every child differently. He danced around to perk up a sad one, lay down to calm a jittery one, kept his distance from a nervous one, got close to and kissed a peaky-looking tatty one, who looked as if he badly needed some affection, apparently instinctively. His handler gave no instructions. And the children all started reading to the dog. Which they wouldn’t do for anyone else. |
| When my mother, 97, was on what we thought was her deathbed, barely able to eat, speak or move, and longing to peg out, we plonked our new puppy into her arms, and within days she was a new woman. Laughing, eating up her dinners, but – most miraculous of all – cuddling the puppy seemed to have unblocked her bowels. Relief all round. What else could it have been? No medicine had ever been so effective. I’m sure the dog gave her another seven, better quality months. | When my mother, 97, was on what we thought was her deathbed, barely able to eat, speak or move, and longing to peg out, we plonked our new puppy into her arms, and within days she was a new woman. Laughing, eating up her dinners, but – most miraculous of all – cuddling the puppy seemed to have unblocked her bowels. Relief all round. What else could it have been? No medicine had ever been so effective. I’m sure the dog gave her another seven, better quality months. |
| There seems to be something about holding or stroking a dog which makes your whole body relax. I’m sure this is what happened to my mother and her innards. Even a sleeping dog on the end of the bed is soothing. But if bed is somewhere you need to get out of, but can’t because you’re paralysed by fear and life seems too horrible and pointless, then the dog can help with that too. There it is, throwing its chewy hedgehog into the air and wanting to go out for a walk, and with any luck, so will you. I know three people who have been hauled out of dangerous depressions by dogs, and if I know of three, there must be loads more. | There seems to be something about holding or stroking a dog which makes your whole body relax. I’m sure this is what happened to my mother and her innards. Even a sleeping dog on the end of the bed is soothing. But if bed is somewhere you need to get out of, but can’t because you’re paralysed by fear and life seems too horrible and pointless, then the dog can help with that too. There it is, throwing its chewy hedgehog into the air and wanting to go out for a walk, and with any luck, so will you. I know three people who have been hauled out of dangerous depressions by dogs, and if I know of three, there must be loads more. |
| So to most dog owners it will come as no surprise when the RCN tells of a child with cancer who was too frightened to go to theatre for life-saving treatment, until a dog accompanied her to the anaesthetic room and calmed her down. And probably distracted her from needles and whatever else unpleasant that was going on. | So to most dog owners it will come as no surprise when the RCN tells of a child with cancer who was too frightened to go to theatre for life-saving treatment, until a dog accompanied her to the anaesthetic room and calmed her down. And probably distracted her from needles and whatever else unpleasant that was going on. |
| There is no better distraction, when you need one, than a dog. I’ve taken mine to nursing homes, hospices, and gatherings of the elderly, and almost everyone wants to stroke them. Who else can you touch affectionately when you’re stuck by yourself in such places, and who else wants to give you a kiss? Nobody much. And what else can you talk about, surrounded by ailments? A dog’s behaviour makes a refreshing change, and of course dogs are beautiful. Something heavenly to chat about and look at instead of scars, blood, catheters and varicose veins. | There is no better distraction, when you need one, than a dog. I’ve taken mine to nursing homes, hospices, and gatherings of the elderly, and almost everyone wants to stroke them. Who else can you touch affectionately when you’re stuck by yourself in such places, and who else wants to give you a kiss? Nobody much. And what else can you talk about, surrounded by ailments? A dog’s behaviour makes a refreshing change, and of course dogs are beautiful. Something heavenly to chat about and look at instead of scars, blood, catheters and varicose veins. |
| And it isn’t only dogs who know how to behave with someone delicate. A horse may play up with some riders, but once it has a disabled rider on its back, it seems to know it must be careful, and will behave impeccably. | And it isn’t only dogs who know how to behave with someone delicate. A horse may play up with some riders, but once it has a disabled rider on its back, it seems to know it must be careful, and will behave impeccably. |
| I remember taking the dog to see my father during his final stay in some dismal hospital, but the dog wasn’t allowed in and he was too weedy to come out. He could only wave at it from a window. What a sad goodbye. So thank heavens the RCN is encouraging more hospitals to let the dogs in. I thought everyone knew by now that they were good for your physical and emotional health, your heart, your general wellbeing. You can lean on a dog to aid mobility – I’ve seen it on The Dog Whisperer – or on a donkey if you need something bigger. | I remember taking the dog to see my father during his final stay in some dismal hospital, but the dog wasn’t allowed in and he was too weedy to come out. He could only wave at it from a window. What a sad goodbye. So thank heavens the RCN is encouraging more hospitals to let the dogs in. I thought everyone knew by now that they were good for your physical and emotional health, your heart, your general wellbeing. You can lean on a dog to aid mobility – I’ve seen it on The Dog Whisperer – or on a donkey if you need something bigger. |
| Dogs can guide the blind, warn and protect soldiers, help autistic children, sniff out cancers, predict seizures. Texas is about to get its first certified funeral therapy dog, and now, if given half a chance, dogs can perk you up in hospital and contribute to your recovery. What more do you want? And don’t worry too much about germs. You can always clean their paws on hospital wipes. So when I’m poorly or on the way out, bring in the dogs, please. | Dogs can guide the blind, warn and protect soldiers, help autistic children, sniff out cancers, predict seizures. Texas is about to get its first certified funeral therapy dog, and now, if given half a chance, dogs can perk you up in hospital and contribute to your recovery. What more do you want? And don’t worry too much about germs. You can always clean their paws on hospital wipes. So when I’m poorly or on the way out, bring in the dogs, please. |
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