Tara Haas, TIRR Memorial Hermann's Facility Dog Program Coordinator and Annie's handler, is an author on a newly published study.
The study looked at 1,619 inpatient rehabilitation patients and found that those who participated in at least one therapy session involving a trained facility dog had greater overall improvements in functional independence than similar patients who did not receive canine-assisted intervention.
The findings included:
1. Patients exposed to canine-assisted intervention had a 2.4-point greater improvement in overall functional independence from admission to discharge.
2. Among patients who participated, greater exposure to the facility dog was associated with progressively greater improvement.
At TIRR Memorial Hermann, Haas and facility dog Annie work with patients recovering from traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strokes and other life-altering conditions. Annie is specially trained to perform dozens of task-specific cues that can be incorporated into therapy to motivate patients and help them work toward individualized rehabilitation goals.
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