Exceptional Visit at The Exceptional Foundation...

Yesterday I went on a visit to the Exceptional Foundation.  According to their mission statement, the Exceptional Foundation strives to meet the social and recreational needs of the exceptional population in Birmingham. The definition of “exceptional” is broad, but the participants that I met were children and teenagers that had autism, Down Syndrome and other developmental delays. There were three Hand in Paw teams at this visit: Beth and Rosie, Andrea and Ludo, and Greg and Ivan. This visit is a part of the “wind down” period at the end of the day (5:00 pm) before the participants go home. The participants told me that they like to pet the dogs, walk them around the gym, brush their fur and watch them perform tricks. I really enjoyed interacting with these exceptional people and watching their enthusiasm over small joys- like the little girl who asked to take pictures with my camera and laughed with delight as she snapped away.

Andrea with Ludo, Beth with Rosie, and Greg with Ivan

The volunteers at the Foundation told me that several of the participants become much more social and engaged when the animal teams are present. The pet partners shared that over time (the same teams come to the Exceptional Foundation twice a month) they had formed bonds with certain participants and that those connections had grown from the animal interactions.  Greg shared with me that at one visit, a young boy with autism had stayed away from he and Ivan and the other participants. Greg surmised that the child might be afraid of the dog, but acknowledged that the child was watching them closely. Eventually, when Greg brought out Ivan’s brush, the boy came over. He did not want to pet the dog or interact with Greg, but he brushed Ivan’s fur for the remainder of the afternoon. When Greg told the child’s mother about this interaction, she told him that she was surprised, because it was unlike the boy to come over and engage in an activity like that. I think that story sums up the benefits of the animal visits at the Exceptional Foundation. The participants come together to visit with the animals and social interactions are the result. Some of the interactions are with the animals, some with each other and some with the pet partner. Though many of us take social interactions and engaging with other people for granted, for the exceptional population, these interactions are an important part of development. Hand in Paw is truly beneficial to the Exceptional Foundation by helping meet the goals of their mission statement- improve the social and recreational needs of the exceptional people that participate there!

Great Visit Today at UAB's Comprehensive Cancer Center

Today I went on a visit to the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. I shadowed Terri and her precious King Charles Cavalier, Katie. Terri is unique in that she has two therapy dogs- Abby and Katie- both are King Charles Cavaliers, but she alternates who goes on which visits. We arrived at 7:00 am because the children who are treated in the morning are slightly sedated so they can be still during their treatments. We visited with the children and adults in the lobby area and everyone responded so favorably to Katie. To me, the amazing thing about animal therapy is that it gets conversations going that might not start otherwise. If I sit in a waiting room at a doctor’s office or hospital, I might speak to the person right next to me, but usually I don’t. And I never make the rounds around the room to speak to each individual. However, having a pet makes this feel comfortable, and those people that need a little lift, often get it. All this is made possible by the unconditional love of animals.

Terri and Katie



I am learning from these visits exactly what I had hoped that I would. Hand in Paw is improving the mood, anxiety levels, communication, engagement and socialization of the patients and their families on Petscription visits. Hearing these patients’ stories is sometimes heartbreaking, but the joy and happiness that the animals provide is inspiring and I’m really blessed to be a part of it. P.S. I am officially registered now with the Delta Society and Hand in Paw as a Therapy Visit Assistant and will continue to volunteer once this project is complete. :)

Changing hands

My name is Lauren and like Rebeccah, who started this blog, I am an Honors student in the UAB School of Nursing. I have selected Hand in Paw for the service-learning project that is a part of the Honors curriculum. A service-learning project entails working with a community partner in a mutually beneficial relationship. The student learns valuable skills and the partner can utilize the service of the nursing student. I chose Hand in Paw because of the significant impact this agency had on my family when my grandmother was required to live in a nursing home. Hand in Paw volunteers visited her facility often and the mood improvement I saw in my grandmother was remarkable. I feel very passionately about the effect that animals have on humans, especially people who are ill, need to be treated for a medical condition, or have a developmental delay. I will be continuing the work of the Honors in Nursing students before me and conducting infection control surveys for quality assurance during visits. To add my own touch to this on-going project, I will also be looking at the effects the visits have on socialization, communication, anxiety levels, reality orientation, attention, concentration, engagement, affect and mood of the patients, residents or students.  I am so excited to be working with this wonderful organization! I hope to post lots of pictures and videos of the visits soon and sharing my journey through this project.