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True Stories of Animals Helping People Heal
 Notice
that glow around B.Bunny? When I first took his picture with my digital
camera, I thought for sure that the camera had malfunctioned. I wanted
the picture of him to be sharp, not fuzzy, so that you could really see
him without that fuzzy halo. Every picture I took of him came out this
way. Perhaps you are thinking that it is the flash reflecting off of his
white fur. Yeah, I thought so too, and when I tried it without the flash...
no change! No other bunny's picture came out this way, not even our solid
white bunny, Nalu. Their pictures were all taken on the same day. Why
is his picture so different? This extraordinary bunny radiates love (the camera has captured it!) with a special ability to help and heal. Many times he does it quietly, drawing little or no attention to himself... and then seemingly out of character, he turns himself into a comedian and steals the spotlight! Even his sense of humor heals. At times, it can be quite challenging visiting hospitals, rehabilitation/convalescent centers, Alzheimer's adult daycare and a pediatric unit for the severely disabled. B.Bunny's level of professionalism never ceases to amaze anyone. (Yes bunnies can be professional! These guys work!!) He has this keen sense of knowing what each patient/resident needs, knows when to be serious and when to bring a little (or a lot! of) levity to lighten the mood. On one particular occasion at Hale Makua, Kahului, I visited a shut-in resident on the Ilima wing. A shut-in is a person who is bedridden and generally does not get out of his room for activities. I enjoy poking my head through the doors with a bunny cradled in my arms, offering our time for a visit. There before me was an elderly frail man with a head of silver hair and beautiful small blue eyes. I entered the room introducing myself and asked him if he needed anything? As I moved toward his bedside, I was actually waiting for the typical response of intrigue, "What's that you have in your arms?" Instead, he said, "Who's there?" Now standing right next to his bed, I felt perplexed that he had not recognized our presence and again said, "Hi, I'm Shannon with Maui Animal Aloha Center. I'm just dropping by for a visit and wondered if you needed anything?" This time moving my arms towards him offering the bunny. He said in a jovial voice, "Well... I really could use a good cup of coffee." He really must have wanted that coffee as he was so focused on it that he didn't even see my bunny. At least that is what went through my head.
I
explained to him that I didn't work at the facility and couldn't get him
his coffee as I wasn't sure if it was allowed on his diet, instead asking
if he would like me to stay and talk with him, which he seemed quite delighted
to accept. As I sat with him, we talked about his life -- he was originally
from New York and had worked in the old days for some really nice people
as a simple clerk. He was a delightful, humble man. He asked what I did
and I explained about our visitations to the facilities with the animals.
He asked, "What animals?" It was then that I realized that he
couldn't see, but at that point we had visited for about 5 minutes and
he hadn't really let on that he was blind. Though in retrospect, there
was an indication when he didn't react to seeing B.Bunny in my arms. I
just had missed it! "Oh about three months." he said.
He answered,
"How about putting him on my chest." I placed little
B.Bunny atop his chest and he smiled brightly. His whole persona changed
to almost electric. B.Bunny just sat quietly as he stroked his soft fur.
I joked about how I bet he never thought he would wake up today and share
his bed with a bunny. He laughed heartily with so much warmth. Since he had only been blind 3 months I wondered if he could see anything at all, perhaps fate was not so cruel and he could see shadows, contrasts, anything. So I asked him just how much he could see. He said he couldn't even make out shapes. "That's too bad because if you looked really hard at my B.Bunny, you would see how lovely he is." "I'm sorry, I just can't see a darn thing." He said.
"That's
okay, if you would like to pretend to look at him, tell me what you would
think you would see."
"Well, he's part white and part black." "Really, can you see that?" I asked. "What color are his ears?" He answered, "Black! I can see them better now, they are black and he has spots all over his face, and lots of black all around his nose and mouth." Then he looked at me and said, "Wow you have the biggest brown eyes and what a smile!" "Harold! You can see!" I exclaimed. He answered, "Well... what do you know... I sure can. All this time I couldn't see but wow, what a beautiful sight to look at." I wasn't sure exactly what he was complimenting as I was caught up in being thrilled for the return of his vision. Just then, hearing our excitement, a staff housekeeper walked in and said with her thick Filipino accent, "Harold, you cannot see." "Oh yes I can!" and he described what she was wearing, the color of her hair, what I was wearing, the color of my eyes and again accurately described the bunny on his chest. "Very Good!" we said. Whether Harold
had been blind for three months or whether his blindness was due to not
wanting to see, or being depressed, or any other reason medical or otherwise...
a 15 minute visit with B.Bunny transformed Harold to open his heart and
once again look through his eyes and embrace his sight. We were all overjoyed!
And Harold, looking both at the housekeeper and myself, said, "Right
now, I really could use a good cup of coffee!"
B.Bunny stole
the spotlight at Hale Makua Wailuku. Apparently, he found an opportunity
to offer a whole lot of love mixed with humor to help people heal that
day. We had seven patients/residents sitting at a table. Most of them
pulled up to the table with their wheelchairs while the ambulatory residents
sat in chairs. We placed our therapy bunnies and guinea pigs in front
of everyone to enjoy. While several were working on their dexterity and
focus, staying on task to remember names, feed and pet the animals, we
decided to add Princess, our animatronic cat to the mix. Since one patient
in particular seemed fearful of the animals, Princess substitutes as the
real thing since she is not real but has sensors that make her seem real.
Her head moves when pet, she purrs, meows and even hisses and yells when
her tail is pulled (though we don't recommend the latter). We always tell
them that she is just pretend, a fun toy.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION ON PET THERAPY WHAT IS
ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY? 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.
MAUI ANIMAL
ALOHA CENTER YOUR
DONATIONS HELP! © Shannon
Dominguez, DCH
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I
felt so much compassion pulse through me; it's hard enough to be bed bound
in a facility but to lose sight as well... well that just made me feel
sad. "You don't have to see my bunny to enjoy him. If it is all right
with you, I'll put him wherever you want on your bed and you can pet him."
