Akbash Dog is Link to love at Llanfair
By Norma Bennett Woolf
The big creamy-white dog sprawled on the floor of the visiting area, half asleep.
The doors opened; an attendant pushing a resident in a wheelchair entered, and
the dog got to his feet, approached the chair, lowered his head a bit, and accepted
a greeting and a neck rub from the elderly woman before she continued on her
way.
The dog went back to his latest project – dozing and waiting for the next
opportunity to say hello and get a hug or a pat on the head.
The big dog is an Akbash, an ancient Turkish breed developed to guard sheep
in the rugged mountains of his homeland. His name is Link, and he is a trained
facility dog – a link to love for residents and staff at Llanfair Retirement
Center, a sprawling complex of buildings in College Hill, a small city adjacent
to Cincinnati, Ohio. Llanfair is part of The Eden Alternative 1,
a national program that trains facility staff to integrate animals and plants
into the daily life of their residents and personnel. Link is one of Llanfair’s
two dogs; Apollo, a black, tan, and white hound mix balances Link’s laissez
faire style with an enthusiasm born of a plan to be petted by everyone in the
world at least once. Apollo’s tail wags constantly as he seeks the next
hand for petting and the next lap for resting his head.
The Eden Alternative
In 1994, The Eden Alternative: Nature, Hope and Nursing Homes by William H.
Thomas MD described a program to eliminate what he called the three plagues
of long-term institutional care – loneliness, helplessness, and boredom.
The Eden mission uses companion animals, indoor plants, and gardens to give
patients the opportunity to care for other living things and to alleviate boredom
through the variety of experiences brought to each facility by the animals.
The program must be embraced by staff and patients alike. Staff members attend
Eden Alternative workshops to learn how to start an Eden program at their facility,
to decide what animals they want, and to include the residents in the planning
process. The facility designates neighborhoods that “own” the animals
and are responsible for daily care and future planning involving the animals.
Staff members walk the dogs and reinforce good manners daily.
Sherry Leet, resident care coordinator at Llanfair and leader of the Sunnyvale
neighborhood where Link and Apollo hang out, is an advocate of the therapeutic
value of the dogs and other animals. Like other staff members, Leet said she
was skeptical at first, but came to the realization that the animals enhance
the quality of life at the facility. I truly believe this is the most beneficial
thing there is for our residents,” Leet said.
The animals live at the facility; Link and Apollo have their own room at Llanfair
where they sleep at night and can rest during the day if they choose. Both dogs
also romp in the enclosed courtyard where residents also relax and enjoy nice
weather. Leet said that about 95 percent of the residents accept the animals,
and that those who don’t want the dogs in their rooms can post a sign on
the door that declares their space an “Animal Free Zone.”
Llanfair also has four cats from a local rescue, a large aquarium, and an aviary.
This year, a grant from Procter & Gamble will allow the staff to begin work
on an interactive garden for the residents.
The dogs
The dogs chosen for each nursing home or retirement center must have low working
drives and high tolerance for human contact. They must be healthy, at least
three years old with even tempers. Big dogs and small dogs are acceptable. As
a general rule, one dog per 20 residents is allowed access to all parts of the
home and residents rooms, except the dining room and food preparation areas.
The dogs come to the facilities through a service dog organization, not direct
donation. Many of these dogs are rescued from shelters, and some are donated
by breeders or rescue groups. Llanfair’s dogs came from Circle Tail, a
service dog organization in Butlerville, Ohio, that works with state prison
dog training programs that help inmates, dogs, and service dog organizations.
Link was donated to Circle Tail by a breeder and received his basic training
at Chillicothe Correctional Institution; Apollo was rescued from a dog collector
in southern Ohio and trained at Marion Correctional Institution and Chillicothe.
“What we noticed was that Link was pleasant to everyone, did not bond
tightly to one person, and had a low desire to work,” said Marlys Staley,
Circle Tail director. “His main goals in life were to sleep, (get) a little
light exercise, sleep, be petted and groomed, sleep. Since his energy level
and desire to work were so low but his personality so sweet, we thought he would
make a great facility dog.”
Circle Tail reported on the Llanfair dogs on its website. About Link, the website
said: “The residents feed, groom and pet him while staff members walk him
several times a day. He greets visitors as they come in the entrance. Although
he has his own room with a bed, Link prefers lounging around the lobby or in
the halls near the residents’ rooms. He also loves to spend time in the
courtyard where he lays in the sun watching the birds. The residents love him,
even when he occasionally steals stuffed animals off their beds.”
Although Apollo was more outgoing, Staley said, he also had low work drive
and a moderate energy level at best. “Apollo really just wanted to lean
against you and be petted, and he really didn’t care who you were if you
were nice,” she said. “Llanfair was looking for another dog at the
time and we thought he would be a nice addition to Link as he was more sociable.”
About Apollo, the website said: “Although he shares a room with Link, Apollo
prefers lounging around the lobby or in the halls near the residents’ rooms.
He greets visitors as they come in the entrance. He is always scrounging for
free hands to pet him. With his soulful brown eyes and paw in the lap, most
cannot resist. When he is not ‘working’ he enjoys playing with Link
and taking long walks.”
Facility dogs are generally medium-sized, good with other dogs and with cats,
don’t bond easily to one person, have low protective instincts, are somewhat
submissive, have medium to low energy, and enjoy human contact, Staley said.
“The prisons are actually a very good assessment of whether a dog would
be a good facility dog,” she said. “They are continuously around people,
strangers are always coming into their area, there are other dogs around and
even stray cats, they get obedience and housetrained and are taken around to
be petted by all sorts of people. We also have different handlers work with
them to get them used to taking commands from multiple people.”
Other pets
The Eden Alternative also uses cats, birds, and fish in the nursing homes it
describes as “habitats for human beings rather than institutions for the
frail and elderly.”
The general rule for cats is one per 10 residents. Cats must be at least 8-10
months of age. They are allowed to run free except where food is prepared and
eaten and are given access to an area where they can escape patient attention
if they choose. They are allowed to sleep on patients’ beds and are often
favorites of bed-ridden patients who enjoy petting and grooming.
Birds live in patient rooms or in an aviary in a common area. Parakeets and
cockatiels stimulate patient communication in the rooms and small birds flit
and fly in a floor-to-ceiling enclosure for all to observe and enjoy. Aquaria
with colorful tropical fish may also be set up in patient rooms, meeting rooms,
or lounges.
For additional information contact the Eden Alternative, (607) 674-6723; info@edenalt.com;
www.edenalt.com
Notes
1. “The Eden Alternative” is a protected trademark.
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