Dogs bringing happiness to guests at Barton Skilled Nursing

It's Thursday, and Bella and Sadie are walking the hallways at Barton Skilled Nursing Facility in South Lake Tahoe, stopping by to be stroked, get a hug, a kiss or a dog treat.

The pair, along with owners Lorna and Gary Lefler, are well known at the facility. Sadie, the Lefler's 12-year-old trained therapy dog and Bella, an 18-month old German Shepherd who is a new member of the family.

Bella has been making rounds since February, learning the scoop from Sadie who is an old hand at bringing joy, not only to the elderly and patients, but to children at the South Lake Tahoe Library on Wednesday afternoons.

Their visit is posted on the recreation room entrance and the guests wait for them, some with bags of dog treats next to their beds. The Leflers know the patients likes and dislikes, which ones like dogs, and those who may not want to be visited.

Interaction between the dogs and guests can meet physical, emotional and mental needs and break up the pattern of life at Barton.

"I'd have one live here every day of the week if I could," said Skilled Nursing Activity Director Maureen Froyum.

Thursday Sadie and Bella went to the Rec Room first to visit guests who were playing cards with volunteers. The two stopped by the wheelchairs and greeted their friends before heading down the hallway to see those who are bedridden or not into playing cards that day.

As they start their tour to visit as many of the 48 beds as possible, they eagerly stop by to see Pamela. She always has a full bag of dog treats next to her bed, something the dogs knew prior to walking in her room.

Another patient has treats put into her pocket, waiting for the dogs to stop by to visit.

Sadie jumps into chairs for those who cannot reach down to pet her. She obediently stays still as the facility's guests pet her soft fur.

"I love the joy you bring," Sue McLaughlin of Barton Public Relations said to the Leflers and their dogs. She was making the rounds with us Thursday along with a volunteer who is going to start bringing her terrier to the Skilled Nursing Center.

The two well-behaved therapy dogs are part of a team that interacts with the guests at the facility. On Monday its the basset hound, Tuesday a labradoodle takes over and on Fridays and Saturdays different dogs have duty. Dogs don't visit on Wednesdays...that's bowling day for the residents.

Animals are brought into nursing homes or other skilled nursing centers like Barton to create a homey atmosphere, for entertainment, as social catalysts, or for therapeutic purposes. They are known to relax the residents and lower blood pressure. The residents also feel someone cares and they can have a non-clinical interaction.

Lorna said one day a resident had passed away and the family was surrounding their bed. She and Sadie were walking by and they saw a small boy in the corner, crying after his grandmother had died. Said walked into the room and went right to the boy, giving him comfort in his time of grief.

"Sadie always knows what she needs to do," said Lorna of her dog who has been giving comfort to residents for over seven years.

The Leflers also keep an eye out for the interactions between their dogs and guests of the facility, and if they notice something out of the normal they report it to doctors. They look for changes.

Lorna knows first hand how a therapy dog can make a difference. When her own father had a stroke she and Sadie went to visit him. The doctor had been in the room and her dad wasn't communicating, but when Sadie walked in, he started talking to her,

"Dogs don't want anything," Lorna explained. "Kids and the elderly respond well to dogs."