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Beasts ease burden for human friends
Reprinted from The Star Newspaper, Thursday, August 5, 2004
By Carole Schrock, The Star
Photos by Art Vassy/Star
Society found them in the wild hundreds of years ago, moved them and made them adjust to a different lifestyle.
Animals have responded in noble fashion, allowing human owners to benefit from their strength and companionship.
Rarely, however, are these beasts recognized for the transition they and their ancestors have endured.
Making huge STRIDES
Horses were one of the first domesticated animals. Their legs have carried human hunters and travelers for thousands of years.
These days, the stately animals are used mostly for pleasure riding.
The Special Trinity Riders Involved in Developing Equestrian Skills program in Lockport has found another use for equines. Its horses aid in physical and mental therapy for the disabled.
According to Carol Doenges, director of STRIDES, the program allows adults and children to strengthen their bodies as well as their self-esteem.
"The riders do physical therapy with the horses," she said.
"They ride backward and forward. They do exercises while the horse is moving, so it's not static. Their body is having to react all the time."
In this way, program participants with physical and developmental disabilities get a workout.
Doenges said horseback riding exercises use many back muscles and inspire proper posture in the rider.
Beyond the physical implications, emotional benefits of the program abound.
"For everyone it can be a little different, depending on their needs," Doenges said.
"Many people with developmental disabilities have self-esteem issues. If they can get on this big animal and ride it, they realize they have control."
Parents tell her about effects on their children's lives outside the program. They exhibit more self-sufficiency and better hand-eye coordination.
"Some of these children are in school," she added. "They tell their peers they get to go ride a horse. There aren't many people who do that."
The foundation for this growth is the connection that develops between horse and rider. Many become attached to their animal and like to pet and brush them as well.
"There's the human and animal bond that occurs," Doenges said. "You can't explain why it happens, but when you see people with the horses, the bond is amazing."
Animals have a way of responding to people that is much more open than fellow humans.
"Animals accept us as we are," she said. "They don't care if you have a disability, or how you look. It levels the playing field."
Four-legged visitors
Tender Loving Care Animal Shelter in Homer Glen brings animals to visit the elderly and disabled.
Shelter coordinator Janine Carter said dogs and cats can brighten the day of people whose lives are often isolated.
"It's a joy to them because they can't have their own pet," she said. "Our program brings the animal to them."
The Very Impressive Pets program recruits volunteers to bring their own pets, or one the shelter provides, to visit residents of area nursing homes and the Shady Oaks Cerebral Palsy Summer Camp.
"We used to have a program like this years ago, but it fell by the wayside," Carter said.
"Then we had many facilities calling us and we realized it was needed in the area."
According to Carter, responses to the animal guests are overwhelmingly positive. However, pet selection in the program involves several requirements.
"If volunteers bring their own pets, the animal has to go through our process to see if they are well-behaved and not overly energetic," she said.
Since many of the seniors have thin skin or may not be so steady on their feet, it's important the animal not jump up on them or bound about the room.
Like the animal screening procedure, there is a similar mentoring program for volunteers.
Carter explained why new volunteers are encouraged to first accompany a regular participant.
"These people come to expect your visits," she said. "So it sounds great at first, but when it comes to regularly doing it, it's a different ball game.
"A word we use a lot is 'commitment.' They mentor under someone else and see if they're really up to it."
Annie Coleman, a six-year VIP veteran, is mentoring a new volunteer.
She began by bringing her white poodle, Baby, to Genesis Eldercare in Lemont.
Coleman tearfully described Baby, who died in August, as "just a little angel." Now Coleman brings Squirt, another white poodle but this time a bit of a rascal, to visit elderly residents at Genesis.
"You have to be kind and considerate with a good sense of humor," she said.
"Sometimes they can be a little crabby, but you just go with the flow. Almost all of the time, the people love it when you bring animals."
Squirt came from an abusive relationship and is still becoming acclimated to people, she said. But Coleman insists he is friendly and "a sweetheart."
Carter said the effects of the program are transparent. "The response to these animals is fabulous," she said.
One case involved a young man who had been involved in a bus crash, and was wheelchair-bound. After the accident, he developed a paranoia and refused to leave his room.
For a while, a volunteer regularly brought a dog to see him in his room.
One day, staff told him the dog had arrived, but he needed to come out if he wanted to see her. For the first time in more than two years, the man left his room.
"The program has done some miraculous things," Carter said. "There have been some cases that were really amazing."
She added the program is designed to be more than just "walking the dog." It is a motivational program to aid in mental rehabilitation therapy.
Pet detectives
Still more animals that help humans, though somewhat more indirectly, are those trained by the Cook County Sheriff's Police.
According to Sgt. Joseph Goduto, the canine training supervisor, German Shepherds are trained to pick up trails by ground disturbance.
"They're not like bloodhounds," he said. "They work off ground disturbance, picking up scents and trails from crushed grass."
In this process, the dogs can help police track down burglars or other offenders. While they will not necessarily lead officers directly to a suspect, Goduto called the dogs tools to assist.
He described a home invasion incident in which a man tied up a young girl in her home. Fortunately, her father came home and the man ran out the back door.
Police were called and the canine unit brought in.
Though the man was long gone, a dog followed his scent for three blocks. Where the dog lost the scent, officers noticed a woman gardening and asked her if she had seen anything strange.
She said she saw a man run down the street and hop into a red car.
"She didn't really think anything of it, but she did notice the car had a vanity plate, and she remembered what it was," Goduto said.
Officers were able to trace the plate and apprehended the suspect, who was later positively identified by the victim.
So while the dog did not take the man down in some dramatic scene, without him, officers would have had little chance of finding the villain.
Dogs trained at the facility, set in a heavily wooded area along Harlem Avenue in Orland Park, also learn to identify the scents of several different illegal narcotics
"Our dogs take drug dealers off the street," he said.
"Sometimes there is a lot of money confiscated from these guys. All of our dogs have been purchased with drug money.
"The drug dealers pay for them and we thank them for it."
Goduto said officers are trained to trust their dogs in the field. Cook County Sheriff's Police employ 11 canine officers.
As human civilization evolves, society continues to devise new and better ways to do everything, usually through technological and scientific means.
It is clear, however, that humans make some of the best progress when partnered with our bestial brethren.
Carole Schrock may be reached at cschrock@starnewspapers.com or (708) 802-8828.