Otis the therapy dog spreads joy and comfort in aged care

“I am the Chaplain to residents, family members and staff at Christian Homes Tasmania (CHT). My dog Otis is a pet therapy dog, who visits residents four days a week at two aged care facilities, including (as needed/ required) independent living units (ILU) attached to CHT.

Part of Otis’ role is to visit residents either in their room or in public places, often joining in with activities within the facilities, ensuring the residents are having fun and enjoying themselves.

Otis is very good at spending time with residents one on one – particularly residents who are feeling sad, down or agitated for some reason.  Otis seems to know when a resident needs special one-on-one time. He will sit for ages with residents and allow them to pat and stroke him.

It’s amazing what his calm presence does for residents who are upset or having a bad day. I, staff and family members have seen how Otis snuggles down on the lap of a resident and before you know it, he has them laughing and telling stories of when they had dogs in younger years. Otis has brought joy and happiness to residents and lifted their spirits when feeling down!

Otis constantly interacts with staff members at both our facilities, appointing himself “official time waster.” Otis gets lots of treats, pats cuddles and is often snuggled away with staff on secrete business, unknown to anyone else.

One day I was visiting with a resident in their room with Otis at one of our aged care facilities, and the resident said, “Otis has visited me twice this week. I was feeling very miserable and when he came to see me, I felt myself getting happier and happier. He is such a dear little man, and I look forward to him coming to see me. He is the highlight of my day. I think I need to get him some treats.”

A staff member also recently commented, “He’s such a good boy, but a bit of a time waster as all I want to do is stop and play with him! Otis has really given me a lift in my job. He just brings joy and happiness to me when I see him. Dogs are such faithful and wonderful companions. They just know how a person is feeling and just what to do to cheer them up when they are feeling down.”

Otis has the ability to connect in a way that brings out the best in residents and staff, no matter how they are feeling.

Pets are often the “key” to conversations that you might not normally have with another person. Just their presence brings out long forgotten stories of when they had pets many years ago.

Pets have the amazing ability to reduce stress, anxiety and sadness. Their very presence lefts the mood of those who come into contact with them. A pet’s love is unconditional and constant. They give of themselves and are very patient, trusting and understanding of a person’s needs and how best to meet them.

For me as the Chaplain, Otis has added a whole new dimension to my role. I spend a lot of time with residents and Otis has added a new outlook to my contact with residents. The conversations around pets often leads to other comments residents raise that may not have happened in the past.

Otis has brought a level of happiness and excitement to my role when visiting residents. The joy and happiness I see on their faces when he visits them is very rewarding and he not only brightens the face of the resident / staff member he is visiting, but he makes my day all the better.”