Shannimal's Friendly Tails - Apr May Jun 2007

IN THIS ISSUE:
* My Healing Story*
*It's A Free Country*
*Bella Breaks Down the Door*
*BLESSING*
*Pet Therapy Info*
*** DONATE ***

ANIMAL EDUCATION
NOW AVAILABLE
Make an appointment to schedule your school, group or organization for our humane animal education class & tour! Call: (808) 280-2321:
Haku Baldwin Center
444 Makawao Ave.
Makawao, HI 96768

RESCUED

Meet Mana! I adopted her from the Maui Humane Society in May. She loves the therapy animals & may be one in the future.

VISIT THE WEB PAGE
www.myspace.com/pet_therapy

my healing story
by celia lumsden

Celia Lumsden

All my life I loved animals and I believe that all of them have a higher purpose than being our pets, transportation and food... animals are healers!

Later in life I developed "chronic anxiety." I was embarrassed for being unable to explain or control an anxiety attack whenever it happened. I thought I would just have to live with it until I met Dr. Shannon and started volunteering with the Haku Baldwin Center's Pet Therapy Program.

Previously, I had known that being around animals was very soothing and healing for me but I never realized that interacting with them by helping other people on their healing process was all I needed to get completely healed of my anxiety. I have been volunteering for several months and never had an anxiety attack episode since.

BIG MAHALO [thank you] to Shannon and Alexis for welcoming me to the Program, sharing all their knowledge and to all the pets for touching everybody's lives around them and making miracles everyday!!! ALOHA, Celia

Note from the editor: Celia volunteers with the pet therapy program 2x/ week. Upon meeting her I learned that she was interested in working with animals on a healing level, whether it be training service dogs, learning about and working with therapy animals or working with rescues at the Humane Society. She had contacted other organizations to donate her time and I am very pleased that she chose to work with me and the Haku Baldwin Center. Celia is originally from Brazil; this Maui girl inspires everyone she meets with her enthusiasm, compassion and beautiful soul. She loves all animals (especially her dog "Wrinkles"), playing volleyball and tap dancing. I was unaware of her having chronic anxiety prior to meeting her, and her story's powerful message just confirms that animals help people heal. She unselfishly gives her time to volunteer with me to help others and received an unexpected blessing of healing in return. Nice!

IT'S A FREE COUNTRY

Delphia with bunnies & guinea pig

Laughter inspires healing and Delphia certainly inspired me on one of our scheduled visits at Hale Makua. Delphia is our "more is better" patient. The more animals I can place upon her, the better she feels. She just adores being blanketed with the love of the bunnies, guinea pigs and dog. The entire experience improves her wellness overall.

On this particular visit, she requested that I place all the animals on top of her as she laid in her bed. Normally I would, though with my volunteers further away at that moment, I told her that we could only work with one animal at a time. To which she responded, "That's okay, it's a free country."

I first brought her bunny, Joe Lewis who very much enjoyed being petted. Then she requested another bunny, after which, she wanted another, then another, then another. I had only brought 7 bunnies to the facility that day (2 were in the hands of volunteers visiting other patients on units) and after she had visited the four, she asked, "What else do you have with you."

"I do have a couple of guinea pigs. Would you like to feed them." I replied. "Of course!" she answered.

To her delight I placed a sweet little guinea pig on the towel. Delphia held a long, green leaf of romaine lettuce while guinea pig, Snazzy, happily munched away. One thing about using guinea pigs in a therapy program, we must remain vigilant because guinea pigs leak. (You read that correctly.) What goes in, goes out!! Mostly, we are able to see the signs if they have to "go." As a precaution and for protection, we always use large, clean bath linens to place our animals in for their comfort, to prevent accidental scratching should an animal reposition itself, and for the rare occasional "slip" where the animal doesn't cue us to get it back to its kennel.

This time, Snazzy didn't cue me that she needed to "go." She felt so comfortable with Delphia, that she "went" on the towel (which caught me by complete surprise). Delphia was protected by the linen placed between her and Snazzy. I said, "Delphia, I need to put Snazzy back in because she had a little accident." To which Delphia replied, "That's okay... it's a free country!"

Bella always brings smiles with her cute puppy face (by the way she is 6 years old), wagging tail, therapy vest and little slippers on her front paws. A lot of people ask why she wears the booties. Little Bella is not big enough to be pet when sitting on the ground, nor is she light enough to sit on laps (weighing in at 20 pounds). In order for people to pet her, she must stand on her hind legs and put her paws on the wheelchair or (with permission) on the legs of a patient . The booties protect patients from accidental scratching, as the skin of older patients weakens with age and protection is of the utmost importance.

One day at Hale Makua Kahului, we were making our usual rounds on the Ilima Unit. I brought approximately 20 therapy animals with us (rabbits, guinea pigs and Bella). In an hour's time, we had provided Animal-Assisted Therapy for approximately 36 patients (diligently charting the visitations). As we were packing up and returning the furry ones to their kennels, I could hear down the hall, "I don't want to leave, I'm not coming out." This, in turn, was followed by pleading. "Please Mom, we all miss you, everyone is waiting for you, we love you, we are going take care of you."

Shortly afterward, the same woman I heard pleading with her mother approaches me in tears, saying, "I don't know what to do. She won't come out of her room and we've arranged 24 hour care for her in our home with private nurses." She continues, "We want her to be with her family, her grandchildren and her pets. And we've been trying to get her out of her room for 2 hours now and we're not getting anywhere."

She just said the magic word. Pets! I brought Bella to her room as the patient was shouting at us to leave. This woman was adamant about staying right where she was. In my experience, most patients look forward to going home. This was the first time I had run across a refusal to leave the facility. Undaunted by the anger and frustration being slung at me, I proceeded. "But Bella has come to visit you, wouldn't you like to spend some time with her? Look, her tail is happily wagging... she senses that you love animals and could use a furry friend right now. Is that true?" I asked.

"Oh come here you cute adorable little thing."The patient responded, "I do need a friend."

With Bella, standing on her hind legs against the woman's wheelchair, the two immediately connected as she began stroking Bella's face and head. In that moment, the connection of the human-animal bond was reactivated from dormancy. We could all feel the warmth and tenderness of the moment. Memories of her own pets flooded back to her and reminded her how much she missed her furry friends at home. I asked her, "Would you like to go home now to see your animals?"

With a tear in her eye and somewhat reluctant, she nodded her head yes. I said, "Bella would love to go outside and get some fresh air. Would you like to walk her out to the car that is waiting for you to take you home to your pets, family and friends. They are all so very much looking forward to seeing you." With that, her daughter said, "Come on Mom, everyone at home is so excited to see you; Bella will lead the way." And she did.

Little Bella broke down the door of someone who had intended to lock themselves inside of a care facility, so that she could be reunited with her loved ones (the furry and not so furry ones). Bella took her all the way to the car and received a kiss good-bye from the patient. We just love happy endings.

It's official. We moved the Pet Therapy and Animal Education Program to the Haku Baldwin Center at 444 Makawao Ave in Makawao! Our animals were previously housed at the estate of the late Harriet "Haku"Baldwin and we sincerely thank Katie (Baldwin) Achaval, her husband Emiliano and grandson, Nicholas for all of their hospitality throughout the transition period.

Additionally, big mahalo to our Board of Directors and especially President, Peter Baldwin for making all of this possible. Special thanks to Robin Jensen, Barn Manager and the staff of the Haku Baldwin Center for opening their hearts and welcoming all of us. You girls rock!

The official Hawaiian blessing was performed by Kahuna Kumu Keli'i Tau'a. Due to timing commitments, his schedule of having to leave the island to go to Japan to bless the arrival of the Hawaiian sailing canoe, "The Hokulea" (which by the way, he blessed on its' maiden voyage 31 years ago in 1976) and the timing of the Hawaiian calendar for the most auspicious day for the blessing, there was no time to plan a party. Thank you to those who were able to attend the blessing under such short notice.

WHAT IS ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY?
Animal-Assisted Therapy is also known as Pet Therapy. It is the utilization of specially trained animals as a form of therapy in the clinical environment (i.e.. hospitals, convalescent centers, rehabilitation facilities, Alzheimer and adult day care). It is not a practice of performing therapy on pets or animals, as is often thought by those not familiar with this type of modality.

The formal definition of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is: "AAT is a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is directed and/or delivered by a health/human service professional with specialized expertise, and within the scope of practice of his/her profession.

HAKU BALDWIN CENTER
The Haku Baldwin Center (formerly Maui Animal Aloha Center) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation offering humane Animal Education classes, Animal-Assisted Therapy to children and adults and Therapeutic Horseback riding for disabled children. The first handicapped therapeutic riding sessions were conducted on the grounds of The Maui Horse Center in Makawao by Harriet (Haku) Baldwin in 1973. It became a non-profit in 1991 to provide a permanent place for the therapeutic horseback riding program. In recent years, the therapeutic program expanded to include Animal Education in the public schools and Animal-Assisted (Pet) Therapy in the hospitals, pediatric units, rehabilitation/convalescent facilities and Alzheimer daycare centers.

The Haku Baldwin Center's Therapeutic Horseback Riding, Pet Therapy and Humane Animal Education programs are a free service to the community. While we can provide the love, animals and horses for free, we need your help to support the programs. The Pet Therapy program visits up to 800 patients a month while the Therapeutic Horseback Riding program has dozens of children with disabilities riders. Please donate, any amount. Make a difference in the lives of the people we touch. Your gift will touch their lives in a powerful and meaningful way. Mahalo!

YOUR DONATIONS HELP!
(and are tax-deductible)
Send your check payable to: Haku Baldwin Center
and send it to:
Accounting Services of Maui
Attn: Haku Baldwin Center
PO Box 1920
Makawao, Maui, HI 96768

or donate on-line with your credit card or through Paypal
It's fast, safe and secure.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.
Just click the Donate Button and you'll be redirected to our secure server.

Shannimal's Friendly Tails
is created, owned and maintained by
Dr. Shannon Dominguez, DCH

Distribution with courtesy to:
Haku Baldwin Center
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
444 Makawao Ave.
Makawao, Maui, HI 96768