The Healing Power of Pets and Music

Ann Marie Varga and her lab Gunner stop by to visit Finley Samuels. Pets are known to have a calming or uplifting effect on the ill./Photo Marcia Biggs

Both music and animals have long been recognized as valuable in treating the sick of all ages, from autism to Alzheimer’s Disease. At Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, these alternative therapies bring a sense of well-being to young patients and staff alike.

BY MARCIA BIGGS

ST. PETERSBURG - For Ann Marie Varga and her chocolate lab Gunner, Wednesday means a trip to the hospital.

But no worries, neither has a medical issue. Wednesday is Gunner’s day to visit the kids at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. It’s a day of hugs and scratches and happy faces … and maybe a few treats. Gunner and Varga are part of the hospital’s Animal Assisted Therapy Team. They are one of some 25 pet therapy teams who visit Johns Hopkins to try to bring a ray of sunshine into the rooms of sick children.

Many of the kids they visit have life-threatening illnesses – often and provide a positive focus for patients, their families and even the staff , says Leah Frohnerath, director and co-chair of the pet therapy program at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

Dog teams visit seven days a week, she says, visiting up to 60 patients a day depending on the number of dogs. The pups come in all sizes and breeds from big huggable labs like Gunner to dachsunds. “All the dogs are trained, tested and registered with certified agencies to be able to handle this kind of work,” says Frohnerath. “They all have to have the demeanor to be gentle, social and emotionally supportive.” The handlers, too, are counseled on how to interact with sick patients, to avoid talking cancer – but the appearance of a dog can change the atmosphere about their illness and focus on the animal or uplifting thoughts.

Pet therapy is not new in a hospital setting. It’s been an accepted form of therapy for the elderly and ill for years. “For two decades I’ve been involved with pet therapy,” says Frohnerath. “It’s known to improve emotional well-being and a lot more. Stroking a dog can be calming not just for children, but the staff appreciates it just as much as the patients.”

Labor of love

Being the owner of a pet therapy dog is a labor of love. Varga and 6-year-old Gunner went through several months of training to obtain the Canine Good Citizen Certifi cation, then continued with a six-month training for the Animal-Assisted Therapy qualifi cation. The duo now puts in hundreds of hours annually with visits to Johns Hopkins, Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater and a few side visits here and there.

Gunner has become something of a celebrity, with his own Instagram page and a “baseball card” Varga passes out with his head shot and name on one side and a listing that includes his Birthday (April 27), Favorite Snack (peanut butter) and Talents (high fives).

“This is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done,” says Varga as she begins her rounds. She is a volunteer, not paid for her time or training costs. “This was my dream for him to work with kids, he is such a sweetheart. He loves it as much as the kids do.” As they walk to the elevator Gunner is a hit with visitors and staff who come running to pet him. Escorts stand ready with bottles of hand sanitizer, a strict rule for use both before and after a petting session.

Photos from Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital

Halloween is a special time for patients and pet therapy dogs.

On this day, Gunner’s fi rst visit is with 11-year-old Finley Samuels of Lakeland, who is with his mom Loretta Samuels. Finley’s face brightens when he sees Gunner and he invites him up on the bed for a few minutes. Finley has been here a while, he’s gone through 29 rounds of chemo since August. But there’s nothing like a dog to brighten up his day.

Pet Volunteers Needed

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital has a need for escorts to assist the dog handlers during pet therapy visits. To learn more about the pet therapy program and how to become an escort go to www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Get-Involved/Volunteer

The sound of music

If you hear singing coming from a hospital room, it’s no surprise. Johns Hopkins’ music therapy program brings the sound of music to patients and caregivers every day. Music therapist Erin Siebert covers the entire hospital, sometimes with her guitar, sometimes not, to visit up to a half dozen patients each day.

The bulk of her time is in the neonatal intensive care unit which has 97 out of the hospital’s 256 beds. “The advantages of music therapy include pain management, decreasing agitation, increasing family bonding, a lot of babies may be older than 3 months and at that point there is a great need for developing their cognitive abilities,” explains Siebert. “It even works with premature infants although it’s completely different. I’m generally assisting the parent with gentle humming or singing, which is soothing to both parents and babies.”

Erin Siebert sings to Aiden Tomas

Today she has guitar in tow and is visiting Aiden Tomas and his parents Karina and Julio Tomas. Tiny Aiden was born prematurely at 26 weeks and has spent his entire life of 4 months in the neonatal intensive care unit. He’s a favorite with Erin who notices small changes from week to week during her visits.

It’s quiet and dim in the room, with the big machines attached to the baby whirring and blinking numbers and graphs. Siebert steps up to the crib and starts strumming gently on her guitar. In a hushed voice she starts singing “Itsy bitsy spider climbs up the water spout …” Aiden, with eyes closed, seems serene. His mother insists he hears her and the music is calming. She notices a diff erence when Erin comes to sing, she says.

Perhaps one day soon Karina Tomas will be singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” to Aiden in their own home. It will be a familiar tune, thanks to Erin Siebert and the magic of music therapy.