Pets as therapy - friendly paws bring joy to patients!

Patients going through lengthy rehabilitation and elderly patients often feel isolated and lonely;

Pets As Therapy (PAT) is a national community based charity that provides therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, care homes and special needs schools. We met with Joan Kaye who regularly brings her dog to Queen Alexandra Hospital. Joan has been a Pets As Therapy volunteer for one and a half years now and, together with her little Maltese PAT dog Chouchou, they both come in every Friday.

“Chouchou changes as soon as she gets to the hospital and I put on her PAT jacket. She knows it is her job to say hi to everyone and we always get a wonderful reaction from all of our regulars up on the F1 phoenix rehabilitation ward. We have extended our visit from just the original rehabilitation and elderly care wards on F level, to the orthopaedic and fracture wards on D level, and even more recently, the respiratory high care wards on E level.”

“Our favourite area is the rehabilitation ward as we get to know the patients and families really well. Chouchou was put on his bed and we put his hand onto her and the patient actually moved his fingers to stroke her. It’s incredible that a dog can bring out a reaction like that.”

“Chouchou is a French word meaning sweetheart and darling and she really is around the patients. Every area I have taken Chouchou I have been warmly accepted by the hospital and I can’t wait until we can visit more wards when the other PAT dogs have been fully registered.”

PAT animals bring everyday life closer, and with it all the happy associations for them of home comforts.

Queen Alexandra Hospital just has Chouchou registered, however we pleased to say that we are in the process of adding two more PAT dogs to our team. We are looking to expand upon our PAT and so are looking for more dogs to get involved with this wonderful charity. Any dog can potentially become a PAT dog and will have to make sure they:

  • Pass the assessment criteria
  • Are over nine months of age
  • Have been with their owner for a minimum of six months

All PAT dogs wear an ID disc on their collars, as well as their owners who wear an ID badge on their visits.

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