Aspen, Sunmount’s wonder dog
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Aspen, a golden Pomeranian and chow mix, is making life special for the consumers at Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office.
Everyone there, including staff, anticipates a visit from this lovable 16-pound dog who touches the lives of so many with his affection and personality.
PEF member Regina Henske is the proud owner of Aspen and is a rehabilitation counselor. She started the Pet Visiting program in December 2001, with a miniature pinscher named
T-Rex.
Rex is 16 and retired, so Henske adopted Aspen from a local animal shelter nearly five years ago and taught this canine companion how to interact and communicate with all types of people.
The Pet Visiting program is sanctioned by Sunmount. Aspen has even charmed the staff of state Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter.
“Aspen works every day. She even has a laminated ID with her photo, just as I do,” Henske said. “The rewards of seeing her interact with consumers are constant. Our psychologists and doctors have written reports on the benefits of having pet visits.
“The consumers are forensically involved. They have mental retardation and have been in the judicial services. Many of these consumers are high-functioning. They are not allowed to touch each other or touch staff. The only time they get to hug something is when I bring in Aspen,” Henske said. “Her impact on them is huge.”
Anecdotes abound on the benefits of companion animals, whether service and therapy animals or pets, on human health. Studies are being done all over the world, to find out what connects people to animals.
From the Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition in England to the Child Study Center at New York University, doctors are examining the prominent and noticeable changes interaction with pets has on humans.
This type of research goes back at least two decades, according to the National Institutes of Health, which is also embarking on an effort to study whether companion animals can have a tangible effect on children’s well-being.
“This therapy has been around a long time,” added Rabbi Ken White from Sunmount. “I have seen some of the most amazing interactions. Pet visits benefit autistic consumers to violent consumers, and everyone else in between. They fall in love with these animals.
“The fact we have it here at Sunmount is wonderful,” he said.