Almost every Wednesday afternoon since April 1997, Annabelle, a 6-year-old Sheltie, and Jane Howell, director of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Continuing Medical Education program, have visited patients and their families at the UK Children’s Hospital.

Howell and Annabelle are members of Therapy Dogs Inc., a national organization that certifies dogs for visits to hospitals, nursing homes, and special education programs.

Deborah Martin, a certified tester for Therapy Dogs Inc. in the Lexington area, and a larger group of dogs and their human companions visit the
UK Children’s Hospital and the UK Markey Cancer Center once a month.

UK Children’s Hospital and UK Markey Cancer Center staff find these visits to be very therapeutic for the patients.

"All the patients are asked if they want to see a dog first, so patients and their families have some control over the visit," said Judi Martin, child life coordinator, UK Children’s Hospital.

"It gives them a sense of normalcy by bridging the familiar, the companion animals, with the unfamiliar, the hospital. It also gives patients and their families a connection to their animals at home. These visits help them to mentally escape the hospital."

Martin said staff members also will come to pet the dogs.

"It gives them a welcome, sometimes unexpected, break in their day," Martin said.

Soon after Howell adopted Annabelle from the Sheltie Rescue Club, she noticed that Annabelle was surrounded by five children who were all petting and tugging Annabelle’s fur at a garage sale Howell was having.

Annabelle just sat patiently. Howell said she was amazed at how calm and content Annabelle acted with children.

The next time Howell went to visit her father-in-law in a nursing home, she took Annabelle.

"It was the best visit we had ever had with him," Howell said. "Annabelle got up on the bed and laid down next to my father-in-law, and he really responded."

Howell noticed other patients in the nursing home responded positively as well. Howell contacted Therapy Dogs Inc., and Annabelle soon graduated from their certification program.

Not all dogs are suitable for hospital visits. Only dogs who have been certified by Therapy Dogs Inc. are allowed to come to the UK Children’s Hospital and the UK Markey Cancer Center.

In order to be certified by Therapy Dogs Inc., each dog must first pass a temperament test. The second test inspects the dog’s manners — whether the dog acts controlled on a leash, responds to verbal commands and shows no aggression toward other dogs.

Then the dogs are tested for their behavior around hospital equipment, such as wheelchairs and patient monitors.

In the last step of the certification process, the dogs actually visit a hospital in order to get used to the environment. Most dogs are certified after three hospital visits.

Howell visits patients at the UK Children’s Hospital with Annabelle during her lunch hour. She encourages other staff members to volunteer.

"It’s a wonderful experience to see how the patients and families interact with you," she said.

Patients, their families, hospital staff, and the human volunteers aren’t the only beneficiaries of this program. The dogs enjoy the visits as well.