The Power of Pet Therapy: The Human/Animal Connection

Discover the transformative power of pet therapy as Robin Cohen from Helen Woodward Animal Center shares stories that bring joy, and foster profound human-animal connections. Whether it’s a children finding comfort in an unexpected animal encounter, or a someone reconnecting to memories of a pet skunk from the past; this episode reveals how animals not only heal but also teach us compassion, patience, and trust.

Guest Robin Cohen, with over three decades of experience at Helen Woodward Animal Center, highlights the surprising science behind pet therapy’s physical and emotional benefits—from blood pressure drops to reduced aggression in at-risk youth. She shares inspiring stories of animals like a snake that helped a fearful man conquer his phobia, and a dog's loving intuition that helped comfort a man and his family.

Robin explains how organizations worldwide can replicate programs like theirs through accessible training, volunteer efforts, and community education, emphasizing that every animal, regardless of species, has the potential to change lives.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I think that one of the most beautiful parts about animals is that we, as humans, we have a lot of judgment and a lot of perceptions about diagnosis and how someone's going to react. So we already come into an interaction with somebody with how we think it's going to go. And with an animal, there's a complete acceptance of in the moment who that person is. It doesn't matter their diagnosis, it doesn't matter what happened 10 years ago or 10 minutes ago. The animal accepts them for who they are in that moment.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Over the years, my curiosity and experiences, along with the many people I have worked with, revealed to me we all have a desire to feel connected to the natural world. You're listening to Animals, Nature and You, a podcast that explores a connection between animals, nature, and humans. A podcast that celebrates learning more, following our curiosity, and reconnecting with the natural world. Welcome to Animals, Nature and You. I'm your host, Rick Schwartz, and as always, I am very glad you're here, and this particular episode is kind of extra special in that not that any of the past episodes were not also extra special, but this one's a little bit of a different topic, but also within the big theme of what Animals Nature and You is about. You see, back when this podcast was just an idea, I knew I wanted to expand beyond zoos and conservation and the people who make that happen. And I also wanted to dive into the naturalist side of things. How can we reconnect with our own native plants and wildlife in our own backyard? What's the difference we can make when we feel overwhelmed? But also then I wanted to tap into our connection with our own domestic animals. There's this part of the human history from thousands of years ago where suddenly, somehow, we started to share life with canids and with felids and other species and working together, whatever it might be, that connection between animal and human became stronger and deeper. I grew up with dogs and cats and a tortoise and a rabbit, and have had as an adult dogs and cats. I I know that connection personally and intimately. And I know people who've had pets. I've worked with animals that are not pet animals, but have been able to help people facilitate connections with them just by being in space with them, being in the same space with them and sharing that time together. This particular topic, this pet therapy, this bringing animals into spaces such as hospitals, uh hospice areas, senior citizen facilities, people that are under particular care and the impact that has. I quick story before we get started with this interview. I had the opportunity as a zookeeper to take ambassador animals, so these are your smaller animals, into children's hospitals, into senior citizen facilities, getting that opportunity to see people get to connect with an animal in a space that is not usually a space where animals are going to be. And there's so much going on in their life that this is an opportunity to just forget about that for a minute and focus on something else. And it's such a beautiful thing and such a wonderful thing. So I'm really excited to dive into the pet therapy program. This one here is in San Diego, where I am. The Helen Woodward Animal Center is a beacon of no-kill animal shelter, connecting people with animals and all of that. And we'll get into that with this conversation with Robin. And so I do want to tell you a little bit about Robin. Robin Cohen started working at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in January of 1992 after graduating from UCSD with a degree in cultural anthropology. Then in April of 94, she was promoted to pet and counter therapy manager, a position that brought together her love for animals and people. And I mean, she's been doing it since 94. Obviously, she found her spot in the world where she belongs. So after 32 years, she's still going strong, and she's worked alongside a team of wonderful volunteers that bring this unconditional love and tactile benefits of therapy animals to clients with special needs throughout the San Diego community. With over 9,000 visits under her belt, Robin has seen time and time again that animals can help us heal our bodies, minds, and hearts. And I have seen it too, and I have not done nearly that many visits. But Robin, I just want to say thank you. I know you're very busy. I appreciate you taking the time to be a guest here on Animals, Nature, and You.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Oh, Rick, I have been looking forward to this all week. I can't wait to share the work we do in our pet encounter therapy program. And thank you for the opportunity. This is an amazing gift to what we do.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Well, yeah, and here's the thing about it, too. A lot of people know my history is with the zoo world, uh global conservation, and also being a big advocate for our own local backyard conservation. But part of what I got to do the early years as a zoo keeper was we had ambassador animals, smaller ones that we could take to our local children's hospital here in San Diego. And part of that, then as I rolled into the ambassador work for the organization, we opened up an initiative where we had 24-hour video closed caption, or not closed caption, excuse me, closed circuits. So just for hospitals and Ronald McDonald houses, bringing content that we created into hospitals all over the nation. And so we would get to go to these children's hospitals, partner with their local zoos, film things there, even bring some of the animals to the hospital there. And I've always had a special place in my heart for recognizing not just the connection I had with the animals I worked with, but then how much it would shift everyone and not just the patients, the nurses, the doctors too. So having you here with me as a guest is super exciting because I've always had this just enormous love for pet therapy programs. And my experience is so limited. So I can't wait to get into this with you and all of that. In the intro, we talked about your background, how you you got there in the 90s. You've been doing this ever since. So I would love to hear from you. What was it like for you to be placed in charge of this program? And now, after all this time and its growth and everything else that Helen Woodward, what's it been like?

SPEAKER_00 6:19

You know, I it first of all, I've been with the center for 34 years and 32 years with the pet encounter therapy program. And when I first started, I was 24. And I didn't know that this was going to be my life's work, but I saw that the position was open. I loved people, I loved animals. What a great place to go. And the center allowed me to grow in the position. And from that very first visit that I did, I fell in love. And people always ask me, well, what's what's your favorite visit? The one I was just on. That was my favorite visit because every single time we go out, there are amazing impacts on people's joy, their healing, their comfort, distraction from what they're going through. And so it was it was lovely to be offered the chance to grow into the position and to see how it's changed over time from a little bit of the Wild West back in the 90s when I started. Sure, yeah. And now, what is such a um a program that can really be counted on to deliver the best possible therapeutic experience for our clients, for the animals that go out with us, and for the volunteers.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

Very good. Very good. And I think I might have got a little ahead of myself too. Real quick, for listeners that aren't here in San Diego, where you and I are and not familiar with Helen Woodward, what is Helen Woodward? What is this incredible space for these animals? Uh, give us a quick overview of what that space is and how it operates.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

You betcha. So Helen Woodward Animal Center started in 1972 with Helen Woodward's dream of creating a place where animals could help people and people could help animals. The first two departments she started with were adoptions and education. Back in the 70s, there really wasn't an opportunity for pets to find a home, to be given the space to find that perfect family. She wanted to create that place. And then with education, as you know, you worked in the children's zoo. Our opinions are kind of set. You know, I'm 57, opinions get set. And with kids, their minds and their hearts are so open to learning new ways and better ways to care for the planet, for each other, for the animals that we share the planet with. And so those were the two departments she started with. And out of that, we continued to grow her dream as needs in our community, both local and the global community, kind of showed themselves. The center is always there to say, how can we help? How can we improve the world for animals and people and bring them together in a beautiful way? So we have therapeutic riding, horse hospital, small animal hospital, animals where we provide food for homebound seniors, veterans, people that are dealing with um housing insecurity. We are there to help them care for their pets. So it's a very special place.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

And I want to make sure people know too, it's it's nonprofit. You guys really and there's no government support. It's this is a donation-run, heart-centered space for animals and people that is it's a no-kill shelter. You take in what you can, you place what you can, and then you have these programs that we're talking about today. It's really, it is such an amazing program. And I I really hope to see more of these type of organizations springing up across the nation. You guys are really such a uh a beacon of hope when it comes to that human-animal connection.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Well, and thank you. And just to uh let everyone know, we do have something called the business of saving lives because we do want to have what we're doing here replicated in any community that needs it. And so we invite any um other um animal center organization, anyone that's interested in doing the work that we're doing can come out for a free conference. It's a three-day conference here at the center, and we just share what we do because I think we can't solve it all, so we want to help people solve it everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Yeah. Well, and that's the way it that's the way it happens, right? You open up your doors and and you show other people the the way through and and let them take advantage of that opportunity to learn and and your organization, your people can help mentor, and then people can take it back to their communities. That's great. Yes, it's a lot of people. Love it, love it. Okay, so back to the pet therapy part though. There's so much I want to ask you because I've never actually, aside from my own experience of taking ambassador animals into hospitals, which again, it's a very different situation. We don't do much petting with those animals for obvious reasons, but still I I had the opportunity to see the faces on the kids, on the nurses, the doctors, everybody would always just everyone would show up for these presentations. And and rightfully so. For myself as an adult, I had to spend, I think, close to 15, 16 days in the hospital due to a infection. And it was for someone who loves to be outside, it was horrible. I just couldn't, I had to look out a window or something. It was this removal from the outdoor experience, removal from animals. So, and sterile for a good reason. Obviously, it's a hospital. When you show up, when your volunteers show up with these animals, what is what have what has been your experiences? What have been the opportunities? I mean, I love what you said. Your most favorite visit was the one you just had, because clearly it's most clearest on your heart, but just kind of walk people through the experience of being able to facilitate that connection with people who are isolated from animals.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Well, I think that you just hit on the head, you know, the nail on the head with isolation. We are visiting skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, working at memory care communities, anywhere that people need the love and healing touch of an animal, that's where we want to visit. So we're going into places where people are already feeling a physical isolation or an emotional isolation from their life, the people they love, their pets at home. And so when we bring our animals in, it is a space of comfort, connection. I I think that one of the most beautiful parts about animals is that we, as humans, we have a lot of judgment and a lot of perceptions about diagnosis and how someone's gonna react. And so we already come into an interaction with somebody with how we think it's gonna go. And with an animal, there's a complete acceptance of in the moment who that person is. It doesn't matter their diagnosis, it doesn't matter what happened 10 years ago or 10 minutes ago. The animal accepts them for who they are in that moment. And so when we go into a room, that person knows they're not gonna ask me to take medication, they're not gonna tell me something that's really hard, they're not gonna try to ask me questions that I I really can't answer anymore. That animal is just gonna be there in that space with me and allow me to be who I am in my best parts. And so the people light up. It it's it's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

And I didn't think do you oh go ahead. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

No, no, I was just gonna say people truly light up when we walk in the room.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Yeah. I was gonna say it just going in the theme of of what you were mentioning, it reminded me it uh it's almost like it's an opportunity for the focus to be pulled away from why ever whatever reason they're in the hospital or under care.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 13:14

It it the focus is no longer about that. When people show up, just to what you're saying, it's like it's medication, it's talk about this, talk about that, or visiting you because you're in the hospital, oh, how are you doing? No, we're just here to share the focus on the animal, and the animal's happy to be there, and I'm happy that it's here. I want to ask you too. I remember several times we would go into senior care centers, and you would see people who it's just a stoic blank face, and their focus is just down on their lap. They've they've been wheeled into a room where they see presentations once a week or whatever. But then you get in front of them with an opossum, or you get in front of them with an armadillo, and not only do they light up, but they start sharing a story about, oh, when I was a kid, we had these opossums in our backyard or on my farm, we always had to deal with these armadillos, and they would share with you this five-minute story from their experience. You see the whole demeanor and body shift and change. When you show up in facilities of that with older people, have you experienced that too, where it you see that shift occur in their whole body?

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Yes. They completely are removed from what they're dealing with and put into a place of remembering very positive aspects of their life, uh, very nurturing aspects. You know, a lot of the people that we visit, sometimes a lot of that ability to nurture and care for others has been taken away due to what they're dealing with or their age, and allowing them to come back into the role of nurture and loving on the animal and making sure the animal's comfort, it kind of allows them to be back into that space of being a caregiver and something and a person that loves. And I think that when we bring the animals in, those memories that come up, it is something completely outside of the hospital. It removes them from the hospital in that moment because animals are not usually in the hospital. So they are transported into a wonderful space. And I think, you know, I'm a paid staff person at the center, but I have 30 plus amazing volunteers at work. And for a lot of the clients we visit, it's also about the connection with the volunteer. That person is not paid to care for them. That person is there because they purely want to be with them and share that moment with them. So it's the connection with the animal, it's also the connection with the person on the end of the leash or holding the basket, which is really lovely. And if I have a couple seconds to share, um we did a uh visit, we got a request for a hospice um client, and they said, Do you have a therapy skunk? And I have to admit, we therapy skunks are not usually called upon to do this kind of work. And I said, Well, you know, we don't have a therapy skunk, but I happen to have a skunk costume and a really cute Pomeranian. So I dressed my Pomeranian up in a skunk costume, showed up at the man's house. He had had a pet skunk as a child. You kind of mentioned, you know, about the opossum.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

And he just started giggling and laughing. And he insisted that we bring out his photo album with all the pictures of his pet skunk.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

My gosh.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

And we had this incredibly beautiful moment that, yes, I was there because he was in hospice and dealing with a very difficult time in his life, but that wasn't the focus. It was his memories about the skunk and loving on my Pomeranian, which is the best gift.

SPEAKER_02 16:24

Yeah. Yeah. You know, I a question I had already loaded in my mind to ask you during this interview. I feel like we're already answering it through the storytelling. It and it really is, is what is the impact? What is it that is that connection? And you've been doing this for 30 plus years. You see it in person that there's something about the connection humans and animals have, whether it is triggering memories, but those memories are triggering the connection that they've had, or like you also said, the opportunity to just be somebody who loves on something and cares about something. Do you know in your work and in your time of doing this, is has there been any official studies about blood pressure coming down or other endorphins being released within the patient when they're in the presence of the animal?

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Yeah, we we've been a part of a couple different studies. One that uh studied blood pressure, and definitely you see the blood pressure coming down when they're around the animals. We are part of a study with at an alternative high school here in San Diego with kids coming to class when the animals were there, how um their aggression levels, their um feelings of comfort after the visit. They did this study where we they had a much higher attendance rate when the animals were coming. Kids were given an opportunity and a reason to come to class. There was a connection amongst the students because they could connect over the animals where maybe they were having trouble in class interacting with each other, but over the animal, they could find uh commonality. Um we all there also was a reduction in aggression. I think it went from like 76% post-visit to like 46% post-visit. And it wasn't just within the same day of the visit. They would see a lasting effect for a few days after the visit. We were part of a um study at a hospital for women with um women dealing with high-risk pregnancies, a perinatal special care unit. And they measured um pre uh asked for measurements of how the people were feeling before the visit. They were obviously stressed, worried about their babies, kind of bored sitting in a hospital bed for two to three months at a time, as you mentioned, your turn in the hospital. It's a rough go when you're worried about things and you have nothing to distract you from your worry. And then they did right after the visit, and there was a huge reduction in anxiety and stress and increased feelings of peace and comfort. And then they did, I think, 48 hours out from the visit, and those were lasting impacts for the client. Because I think when I first started, everything was anecdotal about what we did. Oh, yeah, animals are great, they make people happy, but the medical world really wasn't into us coming in. Back in 1983, when um the Helen Woodward Animal Center started the this department, we had to beg our way in to one local skilled nursing that said, okay, maybe you can bring some animals in. It wasn't considered therapeutic. And from those very humble beginnings, now there are thousands of studies out there that show there is a deep impact physically and emotionally to the people that we are visiting. And from that humble start of one facility allowing us in, we now do 24 to 28 visits a month. Wow. And additional hospice visits. We never turn down a hospice request. That is a very incredible moment in someone's life that we want to be there to share some furry joy if we can. And we have 68 facilities on our waiting list right now waiting for service. So it is, I think there is so much proof out there of what this does.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

It's been my experience too, that that often the the biggest concern up front usually is the cleanliness. And well, what are you bringing into the facility? And that's and rightfully so, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Yes. But I think always a concern. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:15

But I I love the fact that there is scientific studies that that offer the evidence that from my side of it, I I've never seen these studies. I I only know the anecdotal side of it. So I love that the history was there, that it was anecdotal, but now there is all of this proof in the pudding for lack of a better term, whether it's the at-risk youth there, aggression coming down, whether it's the stressed-out mamas who are bedridden feeling a little bit less stressed and bringing that, and which is going to be better for their overall time in the hospital for the baby, too. To seniors and and everybody else in between, it is so important. And again, I come from the world where I have seen it, but I have a hard time sometimes either putting words to what I'm seeing, because a lot of times it's emotional feeling stuff, and and humans have a hard time sometimes with words and and feelings, but then to be able to also come at it from the science side and say, yeah, well, here's the proof. Here it is. I think that's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Let me ask you, we've been we've been talking about you know, you mentioned the Pomeranian, that you don't have a skunk, but prior to recording, you did mention it's more than just fluffy dogs, that there's other species you guys are able to bring into these spaces. I would love to to hear what what the species are and maybe some of the fun things that those species bring to the table for somebody who is expecting a fluffy dog.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Yes, yes. Well, and I will just say with the dogs, we accept any dog that can pass our test. Yeah, there are definitely breeds that are great for this work. I mean, golden retrievers and labs almost always pass my test, but we accept any dog that can pass our test. And I I want to say before we kind of go into the species, sure. One of the numbers. one things that I feel is important is that the animal should love the work as much as the people we're visiting, as much as the volunteer. I feel so strongly that they are a partner in the work. It's not a tool to be taken off the shelf, used, and put away. It is a partner. So whenever I, you know, assess new dogs that are coming to the program or a rabbit or a guinea pig, it's like, is this animal going to love doing this? Right. Or at the very least, are they going to enjoy their time doing it? And if we can find that in a species, then I'm all for it. And you you mentioned about the making sure there's no infection. There are some species that are look only for some of the clients that we visit. So I'll kind of go through lots of dogs in the program. We do have two cats in the program. And I would ask you, do you know what the biggest issue is with cats doing this work? What would you guess?

SPEAKER_02 22:49

What I guess. Well I think right off the top of my head it was people being allergic to them.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Definitely concerned. Same concern with rabbits because they have similar dander issues. And so we always have to be careful with that. It's the car ride. If you've ever transported a cat, they're not therapeutic on the other side of that transport yes. And so you know that's why we only have two cats. Cats can be exceptional therapy animals, especially with hospice, but it does take a special cat to be able to do the work. We take out rabbits, we take out guinea pigs. It takes a very special rabbit or guinea pig. Prey versus predator really kind of figures into their comfort in new situations. I know you encounter that when you took out the animal ambassadors and so out of the 10 rabbits we have, we have two that do the pet encounter therapy program. The other ones are wonderful members of our education team and we have two guinea pigs out of the seven guinea pigs that we have that go out. The thing with each animal you may have someone that's had a bad experience with a dog that can light up and have a wonderful moment with a rabbit or a guinea pig. When we go out we try to have multiple species so we have the right animal for everyone that is interested in interacting with those animals. There are very few diseases that are transmitted. We have to be very careful about any kind of zoonotic diseases with dogs, with cats, with rabbits, with guinea pigs there's less of that concern with some of the smaller animals like rabbits and guinea pigs. We do require vaccines for all of the animals. We're very careful with all of that but it's nice to have a species that that doesn't have to be a worry. We do have birds that go out. We have a green cheek conure named Chica who's fabulous we have doves that go out. Oftentimes with the birds it is a look only and enjoy we always try to make sure we have a species that they can be petting on. But then let's talk and talk about birds and how wonderful they are and have that connection with a beautiful animal and for the kids we work with teach why you have to kind of get to know a bird. They deserve that that um time put in to a relationship before they're going to allow touch. Part of what we teach with kids is about respecting boundaries with animals because so many of the kids we have worked with maybe their boundaries haven't been respected. And so by teaching that animals deserve to have boundaries respected, it's also for themselves they deserve that. And so there's a lot of beautiful lessons that come from just the connection not necessarily the tactile touch.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

Yeah. Yeah oh I love that. I love that it's so true. It's so true the the subtle lessons that we can bring when we bring animals into those spaces I I absolutely respect that and love that you guys take that angle. But there's more than birds and rabbits you want to meet the snake right now? Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

So I have to say I am a huge fan of reptiles. I think that reptiles have a lot to teach us. They do so much for our world and they are not given near the credit for what they do for us. And so I love being able to take someone and it's all about the approach and I'm I know you know this when you were showing the animals if you go on and you say to somebody you want to see my my my snake they're like not that excited but if you're like I have the coolest snake and this is so special about him when would you like to get to know him and and it's so it's all about I think how you present them. So I have a beautiful Mexican Rosie Boa that I'm going to bring out.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

So for those of you who are only listening to this podcast on the podcast players or the web browser player, I do encourage you to pop over to the YouTube version of this because she's we get she's actually bringing it out and even if you don't like snakes it's a great opportunity for you to safely observe how cool a snake can be and get this it's a therapy pet. It helps people it and relax. So if you if especially if you don't like snakes, I think this is a great opportunity. So Robin tell us about your totally cool Rosie Boa.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

Well and I her name is Noodle because when we got her she was about this big and she looked like a noodle I love but I would I would love to really kind of underline what you just said about someone that may not have had a lot of experience with a snake and not have a lot of comfort it's one of the things that I think is most beautiful about the reptiles that we bring, we can't change a phobia of someone in one session. Right. But if somebody's a little bit cautious, a little bit concerned they haven't had the best experiences maybe if we can help them to overcome that fear within a pet encounter therapy session, it's a beautiful building block for them to it empowers them to overcome other fears in their life. It's like wow I I I could do that. Right. There was one man that we he was working at the facility we were visiting and he was so terrified of snakes he wouldn't even come into the building if we brought a snake that day. And then finally after two years he's like I am 55 years old. I am not letting this take care take over my life for the rest of my life I want to hold the snake. We were all in shock. Yeah he was shrieking he was crying he held the snake within five minutes he was completely calmed down talking baby talk to the snake and he's like I can't believe I let so much of my life go through with a fear of such a beautiful animal that I just had to get to know. And I, you know, with the work you did direct connection is how you fall in love.

SPEAKER_01 28:20

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 28:20

It's much harder to hate what you have a direct connection with and learn it. So it's it's the best. So and the thing with with reptiles is there's no allergies. So if we have a client that has an allergic reaction to dogs or rabbits or guinea pigs, snakes, you really kind of avoid that.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

We do have to be very careful. They have a natural bacteria load that helps them to digest their food. Not great for us. So we would never have them interacting with clients that are immune compromised or medically fragile. And for the clients we bring them to see kids, adults, we always make sure we do proper um oh I'm sorry sweetheart, proper hand sanitizing it bumped her face. But we always do proper hand sanitizing immediately after the interaction to make sure everybody stays safe.

SPEAKER_02 29:06

I love that I I, you know, honestly looking on the website before I even reached out to you, I saw the all the different dogs you guys have posted there that do this. I had no idea until we started talking that you had a snake also. And I think that's wonderful. As someone who is a huge advocate of getting people to feel more connected to wildlife and yes we're talking about pet therapy but that's a direct connection just like you said about the gentleman who was terrified for most of his life of snakes is like I can't believe it. It's that opportunity to connect. That opportunity to connect yeah absolutely it not only gets you past that fear but also take you to the next level possibly of just like okay well I'm not going to go out and like love on a rattlesnake but I can respect they have a they have a life too and there's a living creature and and you know that that's fine. It's it's it's so wonderful. I absolutely love this program.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

Yeah well and we we work really hard to educate it you know it's not fair to bring a snake in or a dog into a kid and say you know what you get to touch whatever animal you see out there in your community. We want to because you know sometimes the animals that are in their home space may not be as safe as the ones that they're visiting and so we always talk about you know do you approach a dog? You know, do you if somebody you meet somebody you don't have you never ask a stranger for permission to pet the animal you ask whoever's in charge of keeping you safe is it okay to approach that person with the dog and interact? Same with a snake we talk about if you see a snake in the wild they don't they're scared of humans. They want that respect stay away you know find a way to love on snakes with a snake that's going to be safe for you and a snake that wants to be interacting with you.

SPEAKER_02 30:38

Yeah. Yeah yeah great stuff great stuff and you did mention also and I I know you don't have it with you but there's another species you have recently you said you acquired a mini zebu cow.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Mini Zebu cow she her her um we're right now in the process of naming her sometimes they just have to have extra special I think they're in the top running is Elsa Clover and Mushelle. Muchelle, I love it. I know. And so with her uh this beautiful mini Zebu cow that came from another wonderful animal uh rescue organization that thought you know what she has a message to teach she has something to share let's you know let her be part of the Helen Woodward Animal Center family. She just joined us about three weeks ago. So if you're interested in meeting her um we have an incredible humane education program here at the center and animalcenter.org is our website go online and get your chance to meet the cutest cow that ever existed although I'm a big fan of the 2,000 pound cows as well.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

Of course of course yes now you so we've mentioned that you right there obviously at the center you have the snake, you have the cow, but you also mentioned you have volunteers who are the the dog or pet has to be vetted through a test. So if someone here in the San Diego area or someone else who's looking at doing pet therapy work as a volunteer, it can be either you can either show up and work with some of the animals there at Helen Woodward Animal Center Helen Woodward Animal Center or you can have your own pet and go through the process of getting it trained up and tested and then become a volunteer is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 32:13

Yeah so I I think the best thing if somebody's interested in coming working to the center and is it okay if I put her back in her enclosure?

SPEAKER_01 32:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Just in case people are watching that aren't as comfortable, you know, there we go. She enjoyed being on camera. But so we have a wonderful volunteer orientation and that is a great overview of all the different aspects of volunteering here at the center. Learning about our Animals program, picking up food, packaging it for the recipients, coming out and helping at our um uh equine hospital, uh helping out at our club pet boarding facility, there's so many opportunities. So coming to the orientation is a great way to find out all the opportunities. And then for my volunteers specifically if somebody has a great dog, a great cat, a great rabbit or a bird, or they want to help with the animals that we bring out in the program, I invite them to bring their animal out for an assessment. I want to make sure that their dog or cat or rabbit would enjoy the work before I ask the volunteer to go through all the steps because I have to tell you there's a lot more involved for the human side of the volunteering with all the paperwork and the training. So once we've assessed that animal and we think that yeah this animal's going to really love the work the volunteer goes to the orientation, a training three observation visits, psychiatric facility, a senior facility, a kids facility to make sure that they feel comfortable with the work that's going to be asked from them.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

And then we test the dog for both behavior and we test the dog medically to make sure it's going to be safe to go into the environment. I have a real luxury that I go out on every single visit. So I get to see every animal working all the time. So we can do those that fine tuning with that animal as like how do they interact with that um population? Is it the right population? Do they love kids or are they better suited for seniors? We try to match the clientele for the animal.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

Yeah that makes sense and I want to touch on something you mentioned too just from my own personal experience that the process the human has to go through is important because um I I I don't know your process but obviously it's it's very engaged. You've been doing this for a long time. So I I trust you're doing you know that I can speak correctly in the sense of I think someone looking to get into this, someone who's looking to volunteer their time with their pet, they need to understand that sometimes it's a tough situation you're walking into. You you sometimes walk out of there with a lot of emotion now. You have to be able to manage for yourself or in the space and time when when you're going to to see these kids in the hospitals or a hospice situation. And so there's also I think a it's important to recognize that it is a beautiful thing that we can bring animals into these spaces, that your volunteers bring animals into these spaces and change the day, the week of that person's experience but also for those people who are part of facilitating that animal creating that, that can be a lot sometimes and I think it's worth mentioning that just so people are really getting a clear picture that yeah, sometimes it's it's incredibly rewarding but also it's a lot of emotional energy that you have to present with.

SPEAKER_00 35:27

Yes. You know we see a lot we are given the gift of a you know going into a person's life at their sometimes their hardest time and we are given the gift to be able to bring comfort and ease that difficult time but it can be hard because we're also witnessing it along with them. And so the things that we see the sights the sounds the stories that you hear it can be really difficult. And I think one of the things I I love about our program is because we serve so many different communities and so many different clientele if somebody has just lost their parent through hospice maybe a senior facility is not going to be the right fit for them until they've had some time to heal their heart. Maybe the kids' facility is going to be right for them. And there are times when volunteers have gone out on the second and third visit and said, oh my gosh, this is so much more than I thought it was going to be it's not the right fit. And I would rather have them try and say it's not right for them. I I always want to give the opportunity if it's not right for you we have other opportunities here at the center. There's other organizations and nonprofits in San Diego find your passion find what you find joy in every single time you go out to volunteer.

SPEAKER_02 36:40

I love it. So good that that that request of honesty from the volunteer is like really if this is not a good fit please move on and do your own thing same for the same for the animal yeah oh absolutely of course right yeah uh I do want to ask too for anybody who might be listening to this not in San Diego is there a universal group or website or way that somebody who's like I I live in I don't know Oregon or Nevada or Kentucky and I would love to do something like this is other than going to Google and just randomly searching your own area for a pet therapy program, is there a universal hub of information they can go to to find information or is it really just kind of you have to dig around your own area?

SPEAKER_00 37:22

No, not really. There are some national programs and if they put in pet therapy or dog therapy you can definitely hopefully find a program in your area. I would say to anybody that's interested in doing this, find out one of the most important things is insurance. You know, you want to make sure whatever organization you go with, you are assuming some liability when you're taking your dog out with you. And so you want to make sure that that organization is going to keep you safe and is going to cover you through their liability insurance. So whatever you know organization that they go with find out you know I always tell people when they're looking for dog trainers, find the dog trainer that you work with well because they're really training you and they're not you know they're training you more than they're training the dog. And so find an organization that you enjoy the people that when you go out you feel safe on the visit, you feel supported on the visit you feel like you can go in and do the work of connecting with a client because everything else is taken care of by that organization. And people really they are welcome to reach out to me you know uh PET at animalcenter.org go through our website animalcenter.org please reach out I can help you find any questions that you have if you are in New York City I hopefully can help you find something that's going to direct you to do the work. I so believe in what we're doing here and how much this impacts the people we visit. I want to help everyone who has a great dog, a great cat, a great furry family member or scaly to find this work. So they are also they're welcome to reach out to me and I'm happy Wonderful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

Wonderful well thank you for that I will also have down in the show notes here whether people are watching on YouTube or people are listening on their podcast player, I'll have the links that you just mentioned for the Animal Center and everything else. I'll also have the social media for Helen Woodward Animal Center. Is there anything else? What's that?

SPEAKER_00 39:15

We have some good stuff on social media. Yes oh absolutely yes is there anything else you would like to make sure my audience knows about before we wrap this up well I think I'd love to tell a story one of my favorite encounters that ever happened to show the power because there is we go into a room and someone's just petting on an animal and enjoying and that is a huge success. But then there are the deeply impactful moments that say this is the best thing that ever happened. We were at a local hospital there was a gentleman an older gentleman who was lying in the bed he was surrounded by his family members because he was getting ready to transition he was in hospice and we were walking by with an Italian greyhound named Hudson and the family one of the family members said stop please bring him in our dad is a huge huge dog lover could you see he hasn't responded in weeks he hasn't moved in weeks but can we just try? So we pick up the Italian greyhound and my wonderful volunteer Bob lays him in the bed and the man didn't move he didn't interact with a dog. And so the Italian greyhound Hudson said well there's a hand over there and he kind of snuck you know kind of snuck up in bed and laid his head in the man's hand and the man started to pet. And he pet the entire time the dog was in the bed with him. He hadn't been able to speak his family thought he was not connecting that he was already transitioning but he was able in that moment to understand there was a dog and to be able to get that tactile benefit of petting and that joy of connection. So I think that's one of my favorite stories because there are times where we've had kids lift up the ear of a dog and talk about what they've gone through to the dog because the dog's not going to ask questions. The dog's not going to judge the dog's just going to listen. During right after COVID when we started back with um uh in-person visits we had a woman that just had this extreme glower on her face all the time and all her staff nobody none of the staff at the community really liked working with her because she was angry and upset all the time and we came back into the room and as soon as she saw the dog there was a complete change in her face and she lit up and doggy doggy doggy and just kept petting and loving on the dog. And as soon as that dog would move away the this just grimace would return to her face and she'd wheel through until she found the next dog and then she'd light up. And so there is the ability to reach people in such a beautiful way with a pet because there is pure love that comes from that pet and no expectation of anything except we're going to be best friends. And so I think that's what if I can hopefully inspire some people to think look at their pet, you know, and say does this animal have the ability to help people find joy and help them heal please share your pet if do you think they have that that career path in their future.

SPEAKER_02 42:13

Yeah. Absolutely love it. Absolutely love it. Yeah so many great stories and experiences and I can imagine in all the years you've been doing this the you start to think about the impact that a program like this has over the years with with people and and the impact the connection with animals have. I can't thank you enough for for sharing your expertise, your knowledge for taking the time to be on the podcast. But then also I want to extend a thank you just knowing the impact your program has it it's important for any community to to recognize that connection and you're right there in it with your volunteers making it happen. So on behalf of the community of San Diego thank you. But on behalf of also my listeners and viewers thank you for taking the time to share all of this with us. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Oh thank you well and thank you for doing the shout out for my volunteers there would be no program without them they are the finest people I have ever met and they make my di my workday an absolute pleasure. So thank you for shout giving that shout out to them.

SPEAKER_02 43:14

Of course of course well again thank you so much. And of course thank you dear listeners as always I appreciate you being here and a part of this curious odysse we call Animals Nature and you I just want to take a moment to to reflect back on some of the things that Robin brought up and one thing that I've always known in my entire career is that we have a special connection with other living creatures on this planet. Most directly I think we experience it through our pets that we have at home. Those of us that are in the animal care world, as zookeeping or other forms of it, we recognize and understand those connections. You've heard me talk with other guests about all the animals we've worked with have their own individual personalities. And if you have if you have more than one pet, you know that's the the experience also. These living creatures don't judge us for anything that we're going through or anything other than what is the moment we're interacting with. And that's part of the beauty of these pet therapy programs that Robin was talking about. I do want to encourage you if this does sound like something you want to be a part of whether you have a pet or you want to volunteer and help out with one of these facilities whatever it might be this is such an important program. They don't charge it obviously every facility is different but Helen Woodward Animal Center doesn't charge for their visits. It's all done on donations. There are certain situations where they do have a small fee depending upon the situation but overall it is a minimal minimal cost. The connections we have with our pets the animals in our world is so very important. There's a connection there that I know anecdotally and Robin had mentioned there's so many studies it it's just it's truly an important part of living our life is the connections that we have. And she mentioned too her volunteers super important part of that connection not only facilitating the connection but also helping being a part of it too. So if you are someone who does pet therapy whether it's horses or dogs or snakes or whatever it might be thank you for doing that. Thank you for being a part of that connection in making someone's day or life a little bit better. And with that I do want to wrap this up before we go I want to remind you Animals Nature and you is on Instagram and I have my own website zoologyrick.com if you're looking to get a hold of me directly you can go there. I'll have all the links down below that we mentioned of course in the show for the Helen Woodward Animal Center and then my website and everything is down there too. If you want to reach out directly and you don't do social media the very first link on any podcast player says send fan mail and you can text me directly or leave voicemail either something about the show you just heard or whatever it might be that you might want to discuss or talk about or connect over. And then last but not least if this episode is something you think someone in your life might be interested in please feel free to share it. Whether you're watching on YouTube or listening on a podcast player there's always a share button. You can text it, email it, whatever it might be and and word of mouth is how these things grow whether it's the therapy program that we talked about or even this podcast we build these communities of people who care and feel the connection over wildlife and animals dogs mini cows whatever it might be all right so with that let's wrap it up have a good one everybody