Twice a week, pediatric patients in the Janet Weis Children's Hospital and their families are visited by dogs as part of our Tender Paws Pet Therapy Program.  The pet therapy dogs and their handlers have been providing pediatric patients with bedside visits since March 1997.  Patients whom are given consent by the nurses or medical staff are permitted to accept or decline a visit from the pet therapy dogs.  To find out more about the Tender Paws Pet Therapy Program, contact Nancy Ramhap in the Child Life office at (570) 271-5540.

Goals of our Animal Assisted Therapy (A.A.T.) program include:

• Entertainment and humor. By directing attention away from self through humor and sense of play, animals may provide patients an opportunity to play and be happy.

• Reduction of feeling lonely and isolated.

• Channeling, i.e., the animal distracts the patient from things that are distressing or burdensome and serves as an outlet for emotions and stress.

• Unconditional acceptance and love. Because they are nonjudgmental, animals provide a buffer from potentially emotionally painful, insensitive or demanding encounters with humans.

• Reminiscence and facilitation of communication. The pet is not only something to talk to but to talk about.

• Sensory stimulation. Contact with animals stimulates a variety of sensory channels by having the patient brush, hug, and hold the pet, as well as enabling the feel of the animal's heartbeat, ears, feet, paws and nose.

• Patient motivation and movement. This can be particularly important with sedentary or physically challenged patients.

• Enhance the patient's feelings of worth, hope, and self-esteem, decrease feelings of meaninglessness, isolation and hopelessness.

• Diversion from pain.

• Provide positive emotional benefits to care givers.

• Education of patients on proper handling and care of animals present for A.A.T. visits.