- Therapy dogs are changing lives at Archbold Cancer Center
- Pet therapy offers solace to patients and staff
- Watch the video to learn more about how pet therapy improves the care experience.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In Thomasville, cancer patients undergoing treatment are finding comfort and a welcome distraction during their infusions. I’m Lentheus Chaney in Thomasville, speaking with staff and patients at Archbold Cancer Center about how a local pet therapy organization is making a difference.
Autumn Clarke and her dog Hayden have been volunteering with Red Hills Pet Therapy for a year. They visit patients at Archbold Cancer Center twice a month where Hayden gets to show off her training.
“A pet therapy dog needs to be very mannerly. The test that they take to become certified is very demanding. They have to have a lot of self-control,” Clarke said,
Clarke says, Hayden loves going to the center and that there are a few patients that are especially excited for her visits.
“They just really enjoy petting them and I think they enjoy talking about something other than their diagnosis or their treatment,” Clarke said.
Hope Haltiwanger is a patient at Archbold Cancer Center and also an employee. She says she had a tumor on her kidney and is now cancer free. She is still in treatment at the center and relies on visits from Hayden.
“It can be scary seeing all those machines, all those needles, everything going. But you see that puppy you get that, you know, that moment of joy, you know, because who love doesn’t love a warm hug,” Haltiwanger said.
Hayden not only brightens the day of patients. The team caring for them see a benefit as well. Dr. Esther Tan is a veteran and has been a cancer doctor for 14 years. She says that there is a high burnout rate in her field.
“Having pet therapy is probably one of the highlights of my day when I don’t see the dog I asked where the dog is because when they come once a week or once every two weeks, I just enjoy them and they make me forget how stressful my job is,” Tan said.
The center sees 100-150 patients a day. Tan says that in an already high stress job then compounded by the recent cold weather event, staff members pulled together to work a little longer and harder to ensure patients got the care they needed. And a visit from Hayden makes things a bit more manageable. In Thomasville, Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
