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An exemplary program is offered at Children's Hospital in Denver

Prescription Pet Program
The award-winning Prescription Pet Program (also known as RxPets) is a dog-assisted therapy and visitation program which began in 1984 as a cooperative effort of The Children's Hospital (TCH) and the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Society (DAVMS).

Specially-trained volunteer dog owners take their dogs on rounds at The Children's Hospital. All Prescription Pet dogs have passed a vigorous screening and have been approved by veterinarians who volunteer their time. Almost half of the inpatients at The Children's Hospital are offered a dog visit every day. The visits can range from a few minutes to 15 minutes or longer, depending on the child's response. The dogs also assist the medical staff in the psychiatric units and, as needed, in the physical rehabilitation department.

Building the Rx Pet Program at TCH
In 1978, Fern Bechtel, director of Volunteers at TCH, saw the positive effects of pet visitation on her son as he recovered from extensive surgery. She determined that the kids at The Children's Hospital in Denver would benefit from a similar program and began to work toward that goal. Bechtel teamed up with Drs. Jan Facinelli and Jim Houchens, Denver veterinarians, and Mary Jo Cleaveland, head nurse of oncology at TCH, to establish the first dog visitation protocols for The Children's Hospital of Denver.

In 1984, the first dog visited the kids at TCH (one dog, 20 visits to the oncology unit) under close supervision of medical staff. A written prescription from the child's physician was necessary for a dog visit. This was the origin of the name Prescription Pet program. The pet program grew steadily.

In 1990, the program received the American Hospital Award for Volunteer Excellence (HAVE). This was the first time an animal-assisted program received the award. The same year, the RxPets program was honored by the American Society of Directors of Vounteer Services with its "Extraordinary Program" award; Rx Pets won a "DAVMS Service Award" from the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Society as well.

To obtain a copy of the Prescription Pet Program Procol please call Judy Dolton at (303) 861-6286.

Ask about their inexpensive 10-minute video. The video shows how animal-assisted therapy and visitation can benefit not only the patients, but the health care facility that supports the program as well.

Questions or Comments
For information regarding the Prescription Pet Program please call Judy Dolton at (303) 861-6286.

A Selected Animal Facilitated Therapy Bibliography

Books:
Organization and Management of a K-9 Therapy Group. Root, Jacqueline. Delingers. Pub. Ltd. 1990.

The Good Shepherd: A Special Dog's Gift of Healing. Coudert, Jo. Andrews & McMeel. 1998.

Volunteering With Your Pet: How to Get Involved in Animal-Assisted Therapy with Any Kind of Pet. Burch, Mary R. Howell Book House, 1996.

Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others. Davis, Kathy Diamond. Howell Book House. 1992.

Companion Animals in Human Health. Wilson, Cindy C. Sage Publications, 1998. (Available in Forbes Medical Library.)

Therapy Dogs. How to Train and Prepare Your Pet for Therapy Work. Davis, Kathy Diamond. 1992.

Pet-oriented Child Psychotherapy. Levinson, Boris. 1969.

Skeezer — Dog With a Mission. Yates, Elizabeth. Irvington-on-Hudson, 1973.

Animals as Teachers and Healers: True Stories and Reflections. McIlroy, Susan Chernak. New Sage Press, Troutdale, OR. 1996.

Communicating With Animals. Myers, Arthur. Contemporary Publishing House, Chicago, IL. 1997.

Love on a Leash: Giving Joy to Others Through Pet Therapy. Palika, Liz Alpine. Publications, Inc. Loveland, CO. 1996.

The Four Footed Therapist. Ruckert, Janet. Ten Speed Press, Berkley, CA. 1987.

Love, Miracles & Animal Healing, Schoen, A. & Proctor, P. Fireside, New York, NY. 1996.

Standards of Practice for Animal Assisted Activities & Therapy Delta Society, Renton, WA. 1996.

Pets and the Family. Sussman, M. Ed. The Haworth Press. New York, NY. 1985.

Pets in Therapy, edited by Margaret N. Abdill and Denise Juppe.

Both of these national organizations have a great deal of information supporting and describing pets for therapy work, please refer to the following Web sites:

The Delta Society: www.deltasociety.org
Therapy Dogs International, Inc.: www.tdi-dog.org