Working Dogs - PAT Dogs
PAT (PRO-Dogs Active Therapy) Dogs make regular visits with their owners to old peoples’ and children�s homes, hospitals and hospices, giving pleasure to old, deprived, lonely or sick people of all ages. The scheme was the brain-child of the founder of the charity PRO-Dogs, Lesley Scott-Ordish, inspired, perhaps, by Psalm, a Longcoat Chihuahua who always accompanied his owner Nena Musker, when she gave classes in movement and community singing at several old people’s homes in the London area. When the nursing staff saw how eagerly their residents looked forward to his visits;
how they practically queued to pat and stroke him and give him little presents, they realised what a beneficial effect he was having. About the same time, there was news of the studies being carried out by Dr Aaron Kaatcher in the USA to prove that patting an animal has positive physical as well as psychological benefits.
The first PAT Dog, Sabre, a Rough Collie, was registered in 1983 and a pilot project got under way in Derbyshire. The scheme caught on at once, and now, in little more than half a decade there are at least as many PAT Dogs as Guide Dogs, if not more. These dogs really do enjoy their work, and their owners love to know that their dogs are appreciated and admired.
Many moving stories have emerged; the young man seriously disabled in a road accident who had no interest in living until a PAT dog appeared on the scene; the lonely old man who hadn’t a single friend in the world until a particular dog began visiting; the physically handicapped young woman who would not attempt to move from her chair until she had a dog to take for a walk; and the very old lady whose last wish before her death was to see and stroke her beloved PAT dog just once more.