How four-legged doctors help sick children
The fact that man’s best friend - the dog - can also be the best remedy for many varied illnesses, has long stopped being a scientific sensation. Whilst scientists are busy studying the phenomenon of animal therapy, a group of dog specialists from Murmansk has set about developing a practical use for it.
Breed: Therapist
Those who grow up without a dog at home are unlucky, according to well-known writer and dog specialist, Condar Lorentz. Furthermore, if a child suffers from a serious illness, he is even more in need of a four-legged friend. Of course, not every family raising a child on a limited income can afford to take on the additional care of a pet. Precisely for this reason, a group of enthusiasts has created an unusual social organization under the name of “Baikes” in the remote polar city of Murmansk. Their aim is to train dogs for activities with handicapped children.
The recruitment of volunteers took place at dog specialist clubs and training grounds. Dog-owners readily responded to the call to help children, therefore forming a voluntary group did not prove difficult. However, the instructors, Tatyana Pashkova and Vera Nikitskaya carried out an extremely tough candidate selection process: the method of testing eliminated puppies that showed even the faintest signs of nervousness or aggression. The breed of the dog was found to be unrelated to its suitability for the post of four-legged therapist.
Other fundamental requirements included the following: the animal-therapist must be in full health, vaccinated and toilet-trained and should be well groomed and looked-after.
The main difficulty was that medical and social institutions did not show enthusiasm towards Baikes’s collaboration proposal. However, in May 2004, the manager of a charity for handicapped children known as Nadezhda, agreed to allow daily activities and after initial trials, volunteers were invited to the special needs school and nursery.
Most of the children did not have experience with dogs, so the smallest four-legged “volunteers” were introduced to them first. Different institutions care for children with different needs. The children at Nadezhda, for example, have been declared unfit to study, even in special needs schools, according to the current education system. In contrast, Child Centre No. 71 cares for children with severely damaged nervous systems, most of whom are wheelchair-bound.
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