Autumn Updates: Magnolia Wigglesworth Edition

It's been awhile since I've connected my camera to my computer. I know this because I tried to shoot a few images yesterday and discovered the memory card was completely full.

Maggie, of course, got a significant amount of outdoor time. She finds the crunchy autumn leaves particularly wonderful. I think they hold the scent of whatever passed through them particularly well. She's been known to sniff each and every leaf in a pile--and of course leave a message of her own.

Of course there also was myriad opportunities for investigating wildlife in Cambridge. We attempted to visit out the urban chickens at least once a week and scout out a turkey daily.

The turkeys became very enticing. We caught this video outside in the grounds of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. What didn't get filmed was the turkey sneaking up on Maggie while she wasn't looking. As soon as she noticed the results were rather predictable.

Maggie found the remnants of hurricane Sandy rather distressing. She elected to stay inside until conditions improved.



And of course there were the car rides. While it is terribly unsafe for a puppy to hang her head out the window, occasionally Maggie can't resist taking in the scents. We were coming back from a hike at an undisclosed location in the Merrimack River Valley in this shot.

Maggie also had ample opportunity to frolic around her favorite fields near our home in an undisclosed location in the Merrimack River Valley. Here she is engaged in the quintessential hound activity: sniffing.

...and her Maggie is nearly looking at the camera.

..and finally we get a look at the camera. Of course she is in motion so it's blurry. I call this area we are at "tick city" because, well, it's infested with ticks. It's off limits to me and Maggie from spring until the first frost because neither of us get out without at least a few ticks on us. All year long she looks longingly at the path that leads up to tick city. This was her first visit to the area since last spring.

What does one do while at tick city? Wiggle, of course. There is a reason why she is called Magnolia Wigglesworth. This image to the right suggestions one reason for her name.

Cambridge Turkeys, Part II

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Maggie and I discovered a small family of Turkeys wandering around Cambridge. An intrepid reader of my blog spotted this picture on Foursquare and sent it to  me. 

The turkeys last known whereabouts were outside Corporal Burns Playground (more info here) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. If you have any information as to their current location, please contact us. Magnolia the therapy dog is offering a reward.

Need a Break? 15 Minute Mindfulness Walk

The sun was out this morning and rather than run the errands that I've been meaning to run, I did something far more enjoyable: take Maggie for a walk. If you haven't noticed spring has arrived and everything is blooming. It makes for a great mindfulness walk.

Overwhelmed? Get up from your desk and go for a walk. Set an alarm for 15 minutes and focus your attention on counting how many different kinds of flowers you see in bloom. You could also just count the number of flowers you see (though I'd suggest a smaller amount of time, like 60 seconds). If a stray thought comes into your mind, just let it pass by and focus on counting flowers.

In 15 minutes I counted 23. Maggie got in on the action and tried to eat a particular variety of daffodil that I counted. I needed to interrupt my mindfulness practice to retrieve it from her mouth.

Here are four different kinds of flowers that I found. What did you find?

Consultation

In a historic event, Maggie the therapy dog and Dr. Freud met to consult on a case. Before agreeing to disagree, Maggie growled, tweaked Freud's nose, and buried his glasses in the corner of a chair. If you are curious about Maggie and her work, be sure to check out her blog: www.therapydogblog.blogspot.com

Animal Assisted Therapy

Since I've started bringing Maggie into the office on a regular basis I've been fielding a lot of questions about the benefits of animal assisted therapy. Here are a few interesting research articles. I found them to be interested and thought I'd share a few abstracts. I am particularly struck that even the presence of an aquarium in an ward of patients who have Alzheimer's has been shown to have a significant positive effect.

Barak, Y., Savorai, O., Mavashev, S., & Beni, A. (2001). Animal-Assisted Therapy for Elderly Schizophrenic Patients: A One-Year Control Trial. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 4, 439-442.

In a blind, controlled study, the effects of animal-assisted therapy were studied with elderly patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. The study indicated that there was a significant increase in mobility, interpersonal contact, communication, personal hygiene and self-care through the use of cats and dogs as modeling companions.

Barker, S. B., Pandurangi, A. K., & Best, A. M. (2003). Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy onPatients' Anxiety, Fear, and Depression before ECT. The Journal of ECT, 19, 38-44.

This study was done to determine whether animal assisted therapy is associated with reductions in fear, anxiety, and depression in psychiatric patients before electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The effect of AAT on fear was significant in the study and the conclusion was drawn that animal assisted therapy may have a useful role in psychiatric and medical therapies in which the procedure is inherently fear-inducing or has a negative societal perception.

Edwards, N. E. & Beck, A. M., (2002). Animal-Assisted Therapy and Nutrition in Alzheimer'sDisease. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24, 697-712.

This study was really interesting to me. It examined the influence of animal-assisted therapy--this time fish aquariums--on the nutritional intake for individuals with Alzheimer's disease. The researcher's collected baseline nutritional date for two weeks before the study began and then every two weeks after the aquariums were introduced. Nutritional intake increased significantly when the fish were introduced and continued to do so over a 16-week period. They study also found that the participants required less nutritional supplementation (they were eating better) and thus had a net savings effect on their health care costs!

Filan, S. L., & Llewellyn-Jones, R. H., (2006). Animal-Assisted Therapy for Dementia: A Review of the Literature. International Psychogeriatrics, 18, 597-611.

This article reviewed several small studies that suggest the presence of a dog reduces aggression, agitation, and promotes social behavior in people with dementia.

Martin, F., (2002). Animal-Assisted Therapy for Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24, 657-670.

This study evaluated the effects of interaction with dogs on children with pervasive developmental disorders. These disorders are characterized by a lack of social communications and abilities. While interacting with a therapist, children who were also exposed to a therapy dog exhibited a more playful mood, were more focused, and were more aware of their social environments.

Folse, E. B., Minder, C. C., Aycock, M. J., & Santana, R. T., (1994). Animal-Assisted Therapy and Depression in Adult College Students. Anthrozoos: A multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People and Animals, 7, 188-194).

This study investigated the effects of animal assisted therapy on self-reported depression in college students. Students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: animal assisted therapy in conjunction with psychotherapy (directed group), animal assisted therapy only (non-directive), and a control group. They study demonstrated a significant difference between the control group and both the directive and non-directive group, suggesting that that just the presence of a therapy dog can have a positive effect on depressive symptoms.

Therapy Dog

Magnolia the therapy dog had her first full day of work as a therapy dog. I had hoped to slowly start introducing her to work in January however due to some unexpected circumstances, she joined me for the day yesterday.

Maggie did extraordinarily well. She greeted clients at the door and said hello to them as they settled onto the couch or chair. She joined some up on the couch and settled into their laps. At other times, she curled up in her bed next to my chair and silently slept. Not bad for a 14 week old puppy.

Traditionally, a therapy dog is an animal that is trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, people with learning difficulties, and even stressful situations like disaster areas. Any breed of dog has the potential of being a therapy animal. The temperament of the animal is what is important. Dogs working as therapy dogs need to be friendly and patient. They need to possess a sense of confidence and ease in all situations. Most importantly of all, they need to be gentle and enjoy interacting with humans--whether that be the gentle pet of someone in a nursing home or the clumsy roughhousing of a child in school.

There are several different organizations that sponsor certification of therapy dogs. Therapy Dog International is a group founded in New Jersey. Therapy Dogs Inc. is another similar organization based in Wyoming. The organization that I am choosing to work with is the Delta Society and their New England affiliate, New England Pet Partners Inc.

I've elected to work with Maggie toward certification with the Delta Society because I like that they differentiate between Animal Assisted Activities and Animal Assisted Therapy. On their website, they write that "Animal-assisted activities are basically the casual "meet and greet" activities tat involve pets visiting people. The same activity can be repeated with many people, unlike a therapy program that is tailored to a particular person or medical condition." Animal Assisted Therapy is defined as "a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is directed and/or delivered by a health/human service professional with specialized expertise, and within the scope of practice of his/her profession."

While Maggie will certainly be engaged in Animal Assisted Activities in my office from time to time, I am also hoping she will be amenable, when needed, to becoming a more integral part of the therapy process and engage in activities that are more akin to Animal Assisted Therapy.