Hasli the dog helps Hospice patients

Assistance is available for the asking in Sisters to those with both critical and terminal illnesses. Some 80 Hospice of Redmond-Sisters volunteers serve the needs of both patients and their caregivers on a daily basis. At least one of those volunteers is four-legged.

Hasli, an 85-pound yellow Labrador, is a Pet Partner. According to his owner and handler Eloise Barry, Hasli first went to obedience school and then the pair took a Dog Partners in Therapy class, a program offered through the Delta Society.

"In that class you learn what you have to be able to do when you are visiting those who are ill or visiting nursing homes or visiting a hospital.... The dogs have to be very calm," Barry said. They cannot react to unexpected noises or people petting them hard or anything like that.

Next, Hasli was tested by Mare Shay of Dancin' Woofs Compassionate Dog Training and Daycare Center in Bend. Shay is a Delta-licensed animal evaluator. The Delta Society started in Portland in 1977 and now has headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. The Delta Society's mission is to "improve human health through service and therapy animals."

For more information about the Delta Society visit http://www.deltasociety.org.

After Hasli was certified, Barry underwent training provided by Hospice of Redmond-Sisters.

"I specifically asked for opportunities to work with someone who would appreciate having a dog there," Barry said.

Currently, Hasli works two days a week. On Tuesdays he visits a nursing home in Redmond and on Thursdays he visits an individual in Sisters.

"There is an unspoken communication between the dog and the individuals he visits," Barry said. "It's very beautiful."

According to Barry, the dog gives the Hospice patient the opportunity to communicate on a non-verbal level.

Barry told The Nugget that several of the patients Hasli visits cannot talk or can only barely talk.

"When they see the dog their eyes light up and they reach out to the dog and it's like they can connect somehow with that dog. Whereas, if I talk to them it might not be OK or they might not be interested," Barry said.

This summer Hasli will also work at Camp Sunrise, Hospice of Redmond-Sisters' camp for grieving children ages seven through 14. (See "Hospice offers help to the critically ill," The Nugget, May 2, 2007, page 8.) The camp provides such children the "opportunity to grieve in a safe, supportive and understanding environment," said Sisters resident and Hospice bereavement coordinator Diane Kellstrom.

Hasli welcomes the kids one-by-one as they arrive at the camp.

"Last year he just went down the line and just goes up to them and if they'd like it he licks them and wiggles his tale, and they think 'oh, it's safe to come in here.' There's something totally non-threatening about a dog," Barry said. Throughout the camp Hasli had kids hanging on to him all of the time "because he is so good to them."

Hasli and Barry work as a team.

"I am required to go with him all the time, no matter where we go," Barry said.

In addition to working with both grieving adults and children through its Bereavement program and with the critically ill and their caregivers through its Transitions program, Hospice of Redmond-Sisters reaches out to the terminally ill.

Partners in Therapy classes are offered through the Central Oregon Community College Continuing Education program and through Dancin' Woofs several times throughout the year. To qualify for the program, dogs must be at least one year of age and healthy with up-to-date vaccinations. For additional information visit http://www.dancinwoofs.com.