Every year, the Wake County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( SPCA ) places thousands of animals to new homes. Among those numbers are numerous dogs, most of which are friendly, intelligent, and able to serve those in need before they are adopted.
Thanks to Canine Assisted Rehabilitation for the Elderly ( C.A.R.E . NC), those amicable canines have the chance to spend their time doing just that as they wait for adoption, and the Pre-Vet Club at N.C . State is among those helping to make that happen.
Founded by Dr. Julianne Davis, a veterinarian in Raleigh, C.A.R.E . NC is a program that allows shelter dogs to become therapeutic visitors to seniors in the community. This allows the dogs to continue to develop social skills around humans while also providing comfort and care to those in assisted living in the Raleigh area.
Dr. Davis said her German shepherd, Chief, was her inspiration for C.A.R.E . NC.
“He’s one of the most calm dogs,” Dr. Davis said. “He’s very gregarious and loves people, so I thought he would be perfect as a therapy dog. I wasn’t expecting to get so much out of it. I then thought to use shelter dogs for the same purpose as a means to increase their socialization.”
The idea first came to Dr. Davis earlier this year, and she feels that the project is still working to get off the ground. So far, C.A.R.E . NC is working to incorporate five assisted living facilities into the program, which has proven to be a challenge.
“Two [of the homes] have patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia,” Dr. Davis said, “so they are really large. There are currently more seniors than we can take dogs to. We hope that we’ll have enough dogs to take to them all as soon as possible.”
In order to prepare more dogs, C.A.R.E . NC requires a constant number of volunteers who can help to work on training the animals. To this end, Dr. Davis got into contact with Danielle Lindquist , a senior in zoology and the president of the Pre-Vet Club.
“The problem with this program,” Dr. Davis said, “is that you’re running off of volunteers. In order to make it work, you almost have to have steady stream of people who will volunteer as well. I contacted Danielle to give the opportunity and see if students would be interested in helping out to bolster their resumes.”
Lindquist agreed that C.A.R.E . NC provided a great opportunity for students in the club who were interested.
“My main goal was to give Pre-Vet members something to do that was animal related,” Lindquist said, “something that would be part of their portfolio. It’s one of the best things you can do in your free time.”
So far, members of the club have shown a great deal of interest in volunteering. The first interest meeting was attended by about ten students, and close to 100 are on the waiting list to take part.
Liz Hyde, a junior in animal science, has found the time spent working with C.A.R.E . NC to be a great benefit.
“It’s a great experience,” Hyde said. “It gives me the chance to work with a veterinarian, an animal trainer, and an animal behaviorist through one experience.”
Students in the program work to make sure the shelter dogs are ready to be sent out to the assisted living homes by preparing them for human interaction.
“We take five dogs and pair them with two students,” Davis said, “one who has lots of experience handling dogs, and one who doesn’t. They train at the SPCA one day a week until dog is ready. It takes about two to three weeks, and they come to the SPCA when it is closed to work on things learned during the training sessions.”
Once the dogs are ready, they can travel to the assisted living homes that are part of the program and brighten the days of those they visit.
Though still in its early days, C.A.R.E . NC hopes to continue providing its special brand of therapeutic treatments to the elderly living in Raleigh while also socializing canines and increasing their chances of finding a good home.
