Pet therapy making a paws-itive impact on health care workers
A pop-up pet therapy session for health care workers provided a much needed break for staff at an Edmonton hospital Wednesday.
Ron Middleton and his rough collie named Candy spent 90 minutes at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for a pop-up pet therapy session.
“She’s excellent in, you know, getting people to relax, to calm down, to remember the dogs in their lives… those things a good therapy dog does,” said Middleton.
Middleton got Candy when she was six, after she retired from being a show dog. He credits that training for her calm demeanor.
“Working in the medical profession is stressful in the best of times, and now it’s super stressful for them,” he said. “The few minutes we spend actually compounds in many ways with the staff and patients here.”
There are many dog therapy programs meant to assist AHS patients, but this outdoor visit was specifically meant for health care workers.
“Amongst the three of us, our mental health has felt better today, just being excited to come and meet the dog and pet her,” said health care worker Tracey MacPhee.
“I think her calmness really kind of transfers onto us as we’re hanging out with her and petting her,” said RN Jenifer Bennett.
“Being able to take the time to do something like this has been very nice.”
A Statistics Canada survey from earlier this year found seven in 10 health care workers reported worsening mental health during the pandemic. Studies have shown interactions with pets can have a positive impact on mental health in challenging times.
“Last time we were here a young ICU nurse came here on his day off just to spend some time with the dog,” said Middleton.
Candy and her pup Cayley have been volunteering for the last three years. Middleton believes it’s in the past year and a half they’ve made the most impact.
“When we run these kinds of events, we go to the University during exam time and whatever, we call them stress busters and you can just see people come and because a dog lives in the moment, is totally accepting of everything, it just takes people right out of the stress space they’re in.”
Middleton and his dogs also visit the staff and patients at the Alberta Hospital.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Dan Grummett.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.