Therapy Dogs Bring Happiness to Merwick Residents

“I met a dog named Lily today,” said Joan Piccard, 82, a resident of Merwick Care and Rehabilitation Center in Plainsboro “She brightened my day. I love dogs.”

Piccard is not alone. Many of the residents of Merwick look forward to visits by therapy dogs. Lily,a Maltipoo, belonging to Kate Hammett, who volunteers her time for Therapy Dogs International. Therapy Dogs is a volunteer organization dedicated to regulating, testing and registering therapy dogs and their volunteer handlers. They visit nursing homes, hospitals and other institutions where therapy dogs are needed.

Piccard said she always had pets, and she misses them, so she particularly enjoys the visits of Lily and other dogs. Piccard had a picture of another favorite dog, Barney, a beagle, who visits Merwick, also. “I just love her, too. She’s a very sweet dog. I like meeting all the dogs that come to Merwick.”

Jayson Lotano, Merwick recreation director, said the therapy dogs bring a lot of happiness to people at Merwick. “A lot of residents had dogs their whole lives. This makes a big difference to them.” He said they tries to bring in a dog every day. “We have six therapy dogs, of all varieties, big and small. People’s family members also bring in dogs, some of them every day.”

He said one day two residents were waiting by the front door for a dog to come in. “It means a lot to them, and it really fills the empty gaps.”

Hammett said she enjoyed visiting Merwick with Lily. “It’s fun. I enjoy visiting and bringing pleasure to people who maybe had dogs and miss them. The whole idea is that dogs provide a lot of simple comfort for people.”

She said that Lily enjoyed the visits, too, and that she was a very social dog. “She loves everyone, young and old, and I knew she would be the perfect therapy dog. I wanted to share her. It’s so nice to see the smiles on people’s faces in Merwick when they see her coming.”