Canine licks loneliness for the elderly

Skinny and hairless, Annie may be ugly to most people, but her presence alone quickly lights up the most somber faces.

Annie is a Chinese-crested-hairless dog.

Both she and her owner, graduate student Kara Jacobs, are certified volunteers for pet-assistant therapy work in Sonoma County. Together they visit two boarding care homes and a convalescent hospital once a month.

"I really think that for an old person who's sitting in one of those places without much variation in their life, two minutes can be enough, of concentrated dog love, to really make their day," Jacobs said.

Jacobs, a social work major, has been volunteering at the boarding and convalescent homes for a year and a half.

"I think we all have a duty to share what we have with the world," she said. "I think Annie has something very special. She's an unusual breed. Her talent is for loving. I feel it's only right to share that, and it gives me a great deal of pleasure to see other people who would otherwise not have any access to an animal."

According to Jacobs, most elderly people easily relate to Annie because they share a few similarities.

"Sometimes I'll point out that the dog has exactly the same color of hair as the person who's looking at her and they seem to like that," Jacobs said. "I think they can relate to her unusual qualities. To a lot of people she's not that pretty and old people are not considered beautiful in a mainstream fashion either."

It is Annie's friendliness which attracts most of the people to her.

"People love her (Annie) because she is so happy, and it makes them happy to be around her," Jacobs said. "She's very, very accepting. It doesn't matter what you smell like, it doesn't matter what you look like or any of those things. She just really, genuinely likes people."

Alfred Mello is a patient at Healdsburg convalescent hospital who hardly smiles except when he sees dogs visiting the hospital.

"He (Mello) will smile only when he wants to, but every time he sees a dog he smiles," said Kristie Lowry, a nurse assistant. "Dogs are very good for the residents here because they love them. Dogs love you no matter how old you are -- it's unconditional love."

Esther Rostlund, 91, is a resident at a boarding home called Holtzen Manor.

"I just like them (dogs) and the way they act with people," she said. "They're not afraid of any person."

Virginia Dalton, 82, is also a resident of Holtzen Manor.

"I enjoy her (Annie's) friendliness the most. I love seeing that dog. I've never seen those kind of dogs before," Dalton said.

Jacobs also works full-time in a child welfare office. She said her volunteer work at the convalescent and boarding homes provides great relief from her work at the welfare office.

"People do not welcome me with open arms necessarily when I come to see them (at child welfare), so it's nice to do something that's simple and loving," Jacobs said.

She took Annie to the Humane Society to see if she was qualified for pet-assistant therapy after she saw an advertisement asking for volunteers.

Annie had to go through several tests in order to obtain her certificate. One test included several people in walkers and wheelchairs entering the room, dropping a clipboard on a concrete floor to make a loud sound and bringing another dog into the room at the same time. If she has been startled by any of these things, she wouldn't have passed the test.

Jacobs said she enjoys volunteering at the homes and watching people's faces brighten up.

"It's not transforming the world and it's not really working towards social change," she said. "But on a one-to-one basis it makes a great deal of difference."

[ Golden Gater Online October 22, 1996 ]

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