EAMC Staff Finds Comfort in Therapy Dog
September 11, 2020
Arya, a 7-year-old Bernese Mountain dog, serves as the Dog On Call (DOC) for EAMC. DOC is a volunteer-driven community service organization that is a program of Easter Seals Alabama. The certified therapy dog teams provide comfort to people living with disabilities, suffering trauma, stress or who at-risk, living in nursing homes and assisted living communities, hospitals, cancer centers, hospice, rehabilitation, and youth detention centers.
Arya’s owner, Nancy McDaniel, describes how she got into training and owning therapy dogs. “When my husband and I lived in France, my mother developed ovarian cancer at the age of 92,” McDaniel says. “I would fly home to Cleveland, Ohio to take her to her chemotherapy appointments and at the door of the Cleveland Clinic there was an older man with a beautiful Dalmatian that served as a greeter and therapy dog. It became a tradition to get there early to see the dog. My mother suggested I train our Golden Retriever, Sunny, to become a therapy dog. My mother passed away three months later, and I trained Sunny to honor her.”
The Easter Seals Alabama training is a six-month full training process. They begin classes with observation visits, then performance classes, and a final exam. The process goes through pre-training, temperament testing, noise testing, commands (such as sit and stay), gentle obedience, and much more. Experience gives these dogs their ability to maintain their skills.
When asked about how she came to have Arya, McDaniel states that they were searching for a dog to serve as a companion for Sunny who was aging. “My husband and I both taught at Auburn University and one of his students had two Bernese Mountain dogs, and we fell in love with the breed,” McDaniel explained. “We saw them all the time when we lived in France. Our student contacted the breeder and they had a litter, so we took our grandchildren and let them choose the puppy. That is how we got our Arya.”
McDaniel explained that Ayra knows no tricks other than wagging her tail on command and how to shake. “Ayra is there to serve as a comfort to whoever needs it,” McDaniel says. “She knows how to snuggle up, accept belly rubs, wheelchair position for lap or underarm. Ayra serves as a calming presence without having to know a whole lot about the person she is interacting with.”
Nancy McDonald, EAMC's director of Employee Wellness, is responsible for getting Arya to volunteer at EAMC. Currently Ayra is being utilized for employee stress relief. “In these times it’s important to have comfort present for our employees,” says McDonald. “It’s nice to have a warm unconditional moment in the day to smile and relax.” Ayra has been trained to work in all kinds of environments. She has worked summer camps through the university where at times there would be more than 150 children around her. She has performed home visits to terminally ill children, senior living facilities, and she has made visits to staff of medical facilities, schools, and preschools. “She just knows what every person needs,” McDaniel says. “She has the temperament to give herself to people. Ayra also has an incredible work ethic—she loves to make visits.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on Ayra. Due to the pandemic, she was unable to work for six months, causing her to become sad and restless. In the past month, she has been able to return to EAMC to gradually get back to the work that she loves. Because of COVID-19, there are many extra precautions being taken to ensure everyone’s safety. “Currently Ayra is here on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons,” McDonald explains. “Hopefully in the future she will have more varying times she can come to campus.”
