Service animals have been trained to guide a sightless person down a crowded street, smell cancer cells and thump on the chest of an unconscious person slipping into diabetic emergency.
But there’s one skill that just about any companion animals possesses. It requires no rigorous training and garners immediate results. It prompts people with dementia to smile, interact with their environment and even say a few words.
It’s simply the skill of being who they are.
Many seniors living in memory care facilities suffer isolation, apathy and depression. The prospect of answering questions or meeting expectations — however benign — can be daunting. Unlike facility staff or well-meaning family, companion animals ask nothing, demand nothing and offer themselves whole, no questions asked.
In return, furry companions can fire withering brain synapses sparking speech, movement and positive emotion. The primary goal of memory care is to provide the best quality of life available. Engaging an array of senses accomplishes this goal. Companions are soft and cuddly. Walking with them awakens sleepy muscle groups. Looking into their eyes releases healthy doses of oxytocin, one of the brain’s “happy hormones.”
Animals tap into the limbic system, the emotional part of our brain. They may be reflective of innocence, a time in our lives unfettered by jealousy, greed or regret. We want to nurture and protect them. They can give the person with dementia a sense of purpose. At the same time, their presence quells anger and aggressive behaviors that sometimes accompany dementia. They provide an anchor in an uncertain and changing world.
One couldn’t ask for a better listener. A companion animal can sit in one’s lap and listen to endless iterations of the same story without judgement. They don’t care how much we remember or what we’ve forgotten. Residents of memory care facilities often find comfort in familiar places, objects and people. A therapy pet can become a new, familiar source of comfort.
Persons with dementia are historically at high risk for malnutrition. A Purdue University study showed that the presence of therapy pets improved the nutritional status of persons with Alzheimer’s Disease.
These benefits make animal companions a welcome bridge between the world patients with dementia once knew and their new, memory care home. An ideal therapy pet is one who is comfortable with being handled and petted and can adapt to a resident’s changing moods. Dogs should have a calm disposition and know basic commands. Some larger dogs can improve a person’s balance while standing, sitting, walking and going up and down stairs. More independent animals such as cats and birds can be good choices.
Many memory care facilities employ therapy pets. They offer residents multi-modal stimulation without the responsibilities of pet parenting.
In my work as a speech pathologist, I’ve seen the miracle of language emerge from an unguarded mind; what volitional language exercises can’t unlock, the emotional brain may free.
Art, music and movement have been used to help a person with dementia express themselves in ways beyond words. We can add to our therapy toolkit the love of a companion animal.
They can offer us a glimpse into a human soul we thought was lost.