PINEHURST, N.C. -- Just a few weeks ago, Freddie Cockerem couldn't walk at all.
But on Thursday, he walked the dog.
Cockerem, a 70-year-old rehabilitation patient at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, was taking part in one of the hospital's newest programs -- animal-assisted therapy.
The program uses specially trained dogs to help patients strengthen their bodies through seemingly simple exercises, such as walking the dog or brushing its coat.
Cockerem's goal Thursday was to work on his balance. His partner in the job was Abby, a 2-year-old white Labrador retriever owned and managed by volunteer Kathy Constantino.
"Come on Abby," Cockerem said, leaning on his walker and holding Abby's leash. "Come here, baby. You doin' all right."
It was the first time Cockerem, who was recovering from spinal surgery, had worked with a dog, he said.
"I thought it would be a good experience," he said. "I got a dog at home, but he don't take to walkin' on a leash."
But Abby is no ordinary dog.
Not anymore, at least. Abby, and Constantino's other dog, Tess, are certified with the Delta Society, an organization that registers and trains people and pets to administer rehabilitative services.
The hospital is one of two in the state with a certified animal-assisted therapy program, where dogs actually take an active part in the patients' physical rehabilitation.
And while some health care facilities have volunteers who bring in dogs for emotional comfort, Moore Regional has taken it a step further, said Amber Parke Chalker, an occupational therapist at the hospital. The Delta Society-registered dogs help patients perform therapeutic exercises -- something other volunteer dogs aren't registered for. Granted, many of the exercises are things the dogs like -- such as chasing balls and being brushed and petted -- but the dogs still have to pass skills and aptitude tests to qualify for certification. Parke Chalker started the program after moving here from Washington, D.C., where she worked at a larger hospital that provided the service. The majority of her patients were substance abusers and suffered from traumatic injuries, such as gunshot wounds, stabbings and other "really tough stuff," she said. As a result, many patients were uncooperative or unwilling to perform the rehabilitative exercises the therapists recommended. But when the dogs came in, everything changed, Parke Chalker said. Patients who otherwise wouldn't lift their hand to help themselves would reach out to pet the dogs -- a simple exercise that could put a patient on the road to recovery. "It's the connection," Parke Chalker said. "Dogs don't judge. They just love you, and people know that. I saw it again and again."
After moving here in May, Parke Chalker applied for and received a $3,500 grant from the FirstHealth Foundation to implement the program. Although it's only been up and running for a couple of months, Parke Chalker said she's already noticed changes in some of the patients. One patient -- a man who hadn't walked more than 10 feet in his previous therapy sessions -- walked three times as much when he was with the dog, Parke Chalker said. "The cool thing is, people won't remember where they are or what day it is, but they'll remember the dog's name," she said. "They'll be consistent with nothing else but these animals." The dogs, which come every Thursday and Friday, also bring a smile to patients and staff, regardless of whether they work with them, Parke Chalker said. "They light up," she said. It's something Cockerem can understand. He has a dog at home, and he hopes to get another, smaller one when he gets back -- preferably one that could fetch him a ham from the fridge, he joked. In fact, Cockerem thinks there's only one thing that's keeping dogs from being the perfect companion: Speech. "A dog is a very good animal," Cockerem said, with a twinkle in his eye. "But I wish we could teach dogs to talk. If you could get a dog to talk, he could tell you a lot of things. He'd probably tell you where he's been, what he's seen. He might even tell on himself."
