Running after a flying tennis ball in the open yard of a nursing home in Taipei County’s Linkou Township (林口), Baboo, a happily panting black Labrador, is not merely enjoying a game of fetch with an elderly patient, but is in fact working — performing his job as a therapy dog.
As one of 113 certified therapy dogs in Taiwan, Baboo is considered an indispensable part of medical treatment for many people.
In the past decade, Baboo and his counterparts at Taiwan Dr Dog have served more than 150,000 people, ranging from stroke victims, elderly people suffering from dementia and children with delayed development to people with a dog phobia.
However, Baboo and his group of painstakingly trained canine friends will soon be relieved of their duties since the program that employs them is closing down at the end of December because of lack of funding, said Shirley Chen (陳秀宜), the founder and the brainchild behind the program.
Chen said that when she initiated the program in 1999, Taiwan did not have strong animal welfare awareness, let alone the experience of using animals as therapy aids.
Many dogs, Chen said, were discarded on the streets like waste, while those rounded up and taken to pounds were generally kept in inhumane conditions and would suffer terribly before being put down.
As part of the dog lover’s efforts to address the plight of animals in Taiwan, Chen developed the idea of starting an organization aimed at fostering healthy social bonding between people and dogs and also at reducing animal abandonment by letting people know that even stray dogs, when properly trained, can become assets rather than liabilities.
To attain her goals, Chen brought together a group of certified specialists and volunteers who began to offer behavior classes for dogs and their owners, as well as therapy dog training courses.
“Looking back over the last 10 years, I am extremely proud of our achievements because we have reached our goals. These dogs have done amazing work and have touched the hearts of many,” she said.
Wang Lan, a former staff member with a degree in animal--assisted therapy from the US, said working with the dogs has been extremely rewarding because “the progress made by the patients is visible,” though it may be slow at times.
Wang recalled one case in which a severely autistic boy went from refusing to utter a single word to being able to give commands to the animal, a process that took approximately six months, she said.
“The child would not look anyone in the eyes and blocked out all social contact, but when he saw the dog fetching a ball, he lit up and began to pay attention to another living being for the first time in his life,” Wang said.
One desperate mother sought the help of Taiwan Dr Dog because her son was so terrified of dogs that he once jumped off a moving scooter because he saw a dog across the street.
Wang said the specialists started the therapy by presenting him with small dogs such as Chihuahuas before working him up to bigger animals.
Some of the dogs were trained as walking companions for semi-ambulatory patients in nursing homes and hospices, while there are also patients who receive -sensory stimulation by gently rubbing a dog with their feet.
These accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Taiwan Dr Dog was awarded a “Hero for Today” award by Readers Digest, and one of the dogs, Jojo, was named a “regional ambassador” by the Animal Planet Channel in 2002.
However, other than the small funds generated from tuition for the behavior training classes, Taiwan Dr Dog literally has no revenue because all the services provided at medical institutions and schools are free.
“We used to rely on two corporate sponsors, but they both discontinued their funding because of the recession,” Chen said, adding that the program needs at least NT$4 million (US$126,382) to stay afloat.
Chen said that while she still hopes to receive enough support from the public to sustain the program, the harsh reality in the meantime is that it might be the end of the line for Dr Dog in Taiwan.
“It will be heartbreaking to shut down the program, but I feel I have the social obligation to start informing everyone about our final farewell,” she said.
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