Patient Support

Pet Therapy

Each week the patients and staff at CMMC are treated to visits from our furry volunteers – our therapy dogs.  Along with their owners who are also volunteers the therapy dogs make their rounds to our in-patient units as well as several outpatient areas including the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute and Radiation Therapy.   There are nine therapy dogs who visit CMMC on a weekly basis.  The dogs are escorted to each nursing unit and first visit the staff at the nurses station where often times there is a treat waiting for them J  Once the staff has a chance to visit and pet the dogs it’s the patients’ turn.  The volunteers knocks on each door and makes sure each patient in the room is up to a canine visit.  Once this is determined the dog is lead into the room and allowed to be put on the bed and be petted and/or cuddled by the patient.  This process continues until each floor has been visited and all patients who would like a visit gets one.  The volunteers then make their rounds onto the outpatient areas with the dogs.

Our therapy dogs are a mix of several different breeds so we have large German Shepherds and little Dachshunds walking the halls.  Our patients and staff truly love them all.  Many times a patient or patient’s family will call and request a visit from a particular dog and every effort is made to accommodate these requests.  These dogs truly lift the spirits of our patients, their families, and our staff.

Therapy dogs are all certificate through a National Pet Therapy Foundation.   The owner of Shangri-La Kennel in Auburn coordinates the paperwork and oversees the on the job shadowing of the dogs at CMMC.  Once they approve the dog for the hospital the dog and owner become volunteers.  Each of them must wear a hospital ID badge and the dog must have any annual physical and have it’s vaccination record updated by it’s vet.   The dogs must be bathed before each visit and toenails must be short enough as to not click on the floor.   Only Therapy Dogs are allowed to visit our patients unless permission is granted otherwise by the patient’s physician and our Security Department.

More information about the Therapy Dog Program  at CMMC contact Sue Bowie at 795-2472.