Patients' best friend

A brief visit from Daisy and Dixie brightened Joe Havelka's day and reminded him of the past.

The dachshund duo came to Mr. Havelka's room at Anne Arundel Medical Center yesterday, where he was having knee surgery. The talkative Daisy and shy Dixie bought a smile to his face and made his wife, Shirley, remember Myrtle, the dachshund they once owned. And just seeing the dogs made Mrs. Havelka wonder what it would be like to have a dog again.

"We don't have any dogs right now," Mrs. Havelka said, adding that they liked the freedom of leaving home without worrying about the dog. "But whenever I see them (I reconsider). I mean, look at those faces and those eyes."

Anne Arundel Medical Center is just one of the places that Daisy and Dixie spread their cheer. Through the county's Pets on Wheels program, the half sisters travel to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Regency Park Assisted Living in Gambrills and Crofton Convalescent & Rehabilitation Center.

The Pets On Wheels program has 250 animals on hand to comfort patients in the county hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities. They take pets that are social, have had some obedience training and allow themselves to be handled by strangers, said Diane Dzambo, program director. The animals receive training and are sent to facilities that are close to their owners' homes.

The majority of the pet volunteers are dogs, but there are a few cats in the program, as well as alpacas. In the past, there were rabbits involved. The program has been available in the county since 1982.

"It's what pets do, they create physical as well as emotional benefits," Ms. Dzambo said. "As a person ages, especially in a facility, their social circle gets really small. … At the end stages of life, an animal takes a person back to a happy time in their life when they were productive and needed."

BWMC has 10 dogs that are used for recreation therapy, but the number fluctuates. The staff will have one dog there at a time and the dog will stay for about an hour, only visiting patients who have given approval. The pets receive a positive response from the patients 90 percent of the time, said Allison Eatough, BWMC spokesman.

"The patient talks to animals sometimes more than they talk to people at the hospital," Mrs. Eatough said. "The theory behind recreation therapy is that by doing things they enjoy, that will help speed along the healing process."

There are eight dogs that visit AAMC. In addition to the Pets on Wheels teachings, they are giving additional training at the hospital. Each one is accompanied on a leash by their owner and a wears a hospital identification badge. The dogs are allowed to visit different patient floors, with the exception of intensive care, pediatrics and the emergency departments. Raphael Jurkovic got his Great Dane, Maya Rose, involved in Pets on Wheels training right when she reached 6 months. Now an adult, Maya's size is closer to that of a small horse than a dog. But she loves people and is obedient, Mr. Jurkovic said.

"The nurses love her," Mr. Jurkovic said. He added that Maya treats all patients the same amount of respect, except for the time she met with a blind patient and another time with a terminally ill one. "She was very different. She was more attentive and sniffing. I don't know if she could feel it or what. But she had a different disposition."

That is not unusual, hospital officials said.

"For people who love dogs, this is something that medicine can't do," said Susan Walden, first vice president of the AAMC Auxiliary.

To volunteer your pet with Pets On Wheels, call 410-222-0738