Health & Wellness

Boomer Edition | 10th Annual | 2014

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Doggie kisses & fluffy tails keep patients happier & healthier As her husband's cancer worsened, Joann Bush realized that she would soon be living alone. She began contemplating finding a dog for companionship and shared the thought with her husband. His response: Why wait? So Sandy, a Yorkshire terrier puppy, joined the Bush family in their Cherry Creek home. During the last year of Stuart Bush's life, he and Sandy were inseparable. Riding in her carrier, Sandy accompanied Stuart to chemo treatments. When he was hospitalized out-of-state, his wife smuggled the little dog onto the ward in her purse. "She was his constant companion, making him laugh and helping him forget — even for a little while — what he was going through," Bush says. Witnessing that bond had a profound effect on Joann Bush. About a year after her husband's death, she and Sandy entered the rigorous certification process to become an animal therapy team. Today, the duo puts many smiles on Denver-area hospice patients' faces, particularly if Sandy takes a lap or offers her frequently-coveted doggy kiss. "Some of them absolutely insist that they get a kiss," Bush says. Undivided attention Like the Bushes, many pet owners find the attentive, non-judgmental support provided by companion animals a powerful buffer against grief and stress. Pets don't care what we look like or what mistakes we make. And unlike human companions, they're largely immune to distractions. "The animals aren't sitting there texting or worrying about what's on the news," says Diana McQuarrie, founder and executive director of Denver Pet Partners. "When they're with the patient, they're really focused on them. It's very empowering." Research suggests that when we're stressed or anxious, pets are actually more comforting than family members. In one study, participants' heart rate and blood pressure were measured as they performed timed arithmetic or held one hand in freezing water. As a group, the subjects showed significantly less stress response when a pet cat or dog was in the room. In fact, stress responses were greatest when a spouse was present. McQuarrie has seen this phenomenon in action when she's accompanied animal therapy teams to hospital telemetry units. "There was a noticeable decrease in heart rate when they were interacting with the dog," she says. She and her therapy dog, Rigo, once visited a young man who had been burned over most of his face and body. At one point, tears started to roll down the man's cheeks. McQuarrie asked him if he wanted to share what had made him cry. The patient said he felt that others were repelled by his appearance. "But Rigo, he's beyond that," he said. "He sees me on the inside." Diana McQuarrie, founder and executive director of Denver Pet Partners, and her dog, Rigo, bring comfort and smiles to area patients throughout the metro area. Good for the heart The emotional effects of the human-animal bond are often apparent. But can owning a companion animal actually stave off "real" physical health problems? Experts say yes. After reviewing existing data, a panel of experts at the American Heart Association found evidence that dog ownership was associated with a decreased risk for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Health and Wellness Magazine • 81

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