Dogs ease pandemic isolation for nursing home residents
Associated PressEileen Nagle sees her family in video chats and drive-by visits, but that hasn’t made up for the lack of warm hugs in the nine months since the pandemic led her nursing home to shut its doors to visitors. “Zeus is a friendly little snowball, very happy,” said Nagle, 79, after the peppy bichon frise paid a visit to her room at Hebrew Home at Riverdale, overlooking the Hudson River in the Bronx. “I decided we needed to re-energize the pet visiting program since there’s no outside visitation allowed,” said Daniel Reingold, founder of the pet therapy program and president and CEO of RiverSpring Health, nonprofit operator of 103-year-old Hebrew Home. “The cats are especially soothing to people with dementia,” said Catherine Farrell, director of therapeutic activities, primary dog handler and owner of Marley. “It’s one of the only ways they’re able to touch another living being and gain satisfaction from that physical connection.” But it’s not just about petting a dog, said Olivia Cohen, dog handler and assistant director of the therapeutic activities program.
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Changes, challenges: The not-so-secret life of pandemic pets
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Dogs ease pandemic isolation for nursing home residents
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