Assistance Dogs for Alzheimer’s Patients
January 21, 2008 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Pets of many kinds help entertain and bring a smile to the lips of Alzheimer’s patients. I saw my mom develop an affinity for a cat and dog she never had before. They became almost the center of her life. When we had to move her to our home 275 miles from where she was living, we brought her cat. This helped Mother adjust much better than if we’d found another home for Kitty.
When Mother lived at the nursing home, I saw how residents responded to the cats and dogs that visited on “pet day.” Perhaps the animal reminded them of a pet they recently had. Or it might bring back memories of a pet from childhood.
However, dogs can serve another purpose, as related at Alzheimer’s Weekly in She Changed Our Lives. Here, Roberta Bienenfeld tells the story of Nyja, an Alzheimer’s Assistance Dog and how she has helped Jerry Alexander become more active again.
This concept of Alzheimer’s Assistance Dogs is connected with Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) and enables the Alzheimer’s patient to be more independent and more animated (in a positive way). Read Jerry and Jan Alexander’s story and learn how Nyja added brightness to an otherwise bleak future. Nyja didn’t solve all Jerry’s challenges by any means, but enables him to be more mobile and for Jan to be less house bound. They even went on an Alaskan cruise with Nyja.
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
