Mount Pleasant Pets

Walking into Realtor Ann Whalen’s office, I’m greeted by Nimitz – a 4-and-a-half-year-old English cream golden retriever with the kind of chocolate-brown eyes that make you melt like a popsicle left on a Lowcountry dock. He doesn’t bark, dart toward me or jump to make my acquaintance but rather saunters over to the door and gazes out the window to calmly take in the sight of geese congregating by a nearby pond. I can tell by his demeanor he’s enjoying the view. While other dogs may have let out a howl and doused the door with drool in an attempt to make their way out to the feathered flock, he sits and stares – perhaps daydreaming of long rides in the family golf cart.

“He didn’t pass puppy training,” recalled Whalen, his owner. “If the pack went left, he went right.”

Despite his rebel spirit – apparent from birth – Nimitz has transformed into one of the top therapy dogs in the region. On one occasion, he didn’t even flinch when faced with the weight of a walker on top of his tender tail.

“You just have a purpose when you have a dog,” said Whalen. “Nimitz is so loving. Keeping up with his schedule and working can be a lot. Some days, he seems to be busier than me.”

Whether he’s visiting folks at the senior center or leaving neighbors in a state of glee, Nimitz’s very presence seems to off er a sense of relief and tranquility. This therapy dog even provides camaraderie for a cat, Meezer, that shares his Awendaw home.

This summer, Nimitz will have the opportunity to play alongside some truly exceptional kids at Camp Rise Above – a program held at James Island County Park for those dealing with everything from brain tumors to sickle cell anemia. The camp is broken down into seven sessions of two full days, each catering to a different group of campers with a specific condition. Participants will stretch their creativity with arts and crafts and build strength in the water with paddle boarding sessions. They will also get the opportunity to meet amazing canines like the endearing Nimitz.

“We are very excited about this opportunity,” said Whalen, who spent years working with children at a similar sleep-away camp in North Carolina. “We hope to one day get him into a program at MUSC Children’s Hospital.”

He already visits hospice every week and brings a bit of cheer to patients and family members during the most stressful times of their lives.

“He goes to each room and rests his head on the patient’s bed,” said Whalen.

Recently, while visiting with an Alzheimer’s patient, Nimitz’s presence jolted his memory. A veteran, the man became lucid, carried on conversations and even commented on the fact that Nimitz’s namesake was an esteemed fleet admiral who fought in WW II.

“When I put his therapy collar on, he is a totally different dog,” said Whalen, who brings Nimitz to a refresher course at Alpha Dog Training every six months. “He knows it’s time to go to work.”

While therapy dogs bring joy to those struggling with grief, illness or emotional upset, they also are helping kids increase their own literary confidence. We all remember the early days of childhood where sounding out words and reading aloud to a group of our peers could possibly bring on anxiety. What if your reading partner had a shiny coat and a nonjudgmental stance? Therapy dogs make monthly appearances at libraries, such as Mount Pleasant Regional and Edgar Allen Poe on Sullivan’s Island, to participate in reading programs designed to help children excel.

“Dogs don’t criticize or laugh when one makes a mistake,” said Cynthia King, president of Southeastern Therapy Animal Resources. “Also, there are children who come who are afraid of dogs. It is fun to watch a shy child want to come up to pet our dogs.”

King is the proud owner of two standard poodles, Pete and Holly, that accompany her to hospitals, assisted living facilities and schools all across the Lowcountry.

“As a founding member of STAR, I’ve watched it grow from seven people sitting on a porch, deciding to start a therapy group, to around 80 members,” said King. “Just knowing how many teams we are helping in the community is satisfying.”

Think your pooch has what it takes to bring smiles to faces throughout the area? King encourages community members to reach out and get involved.

“There is no one breed or size of dog that makes a good therapy dog,” said King. “All that is needed is a trained dog – one that enjoys being petted.”

From Great Danes to basset hounds, the number of shapes a therapy dog can take is about as varied as the people and ailments they can help.

By Kalene McCort

I can remember one of the first times I came home from work after I got my puppy. He ran to greet me at the door and was so happy. I thought, “Now this is why I got a dog.”

According to Animal Smart, just the act of petting an animal can increase levels of the stress-reducing hormone oxytocin and decrease production of the stress hormone cortisol. Study after study has shown that owning a pet is good for your health. A 2001 survey from Animal Smart found that pet-owning patients could keep their high blood pressure in check during times of stress better than patients without pets. And yet another study showed that patients who have suffered a heart attack increase their odds of surviving for at least a year if they own a pet.

It’s that unconditional love that a pet gives you. They don’t judge you for leaving a pile of laundry on the floor, and they don’t mind if you ignore the dirty dishes in the sink. They truly are a man’s – and woman’s – best friend.

Jessica Hecker, the veterinary technician manager at Advanced Animal Care of Mount Pleasant, said she has been in the field for 11 years but still feels there is so much more she can learn from animals.

“I am constantly amazed by all the things I learn from animals,” she said. “They are capable of bringing out the best in people, even in the most dire situations. They bring out the nurturing side of us and they pass no judgment. They exhibit the very definition of unconditional love.”

Pets also do a great job of helping people deal with loneliness. According to Pet Health Network, senior citizens who own a pet have an enhanced quality of life because their pet gets them out and increases their feelings of social connectedness. While getting a pet solely for the purpose of meeting people may not be a good idea, it is hard to overlook the fact that animals bring people together and improve socialization overall.

And who hasn’t heard of therapy dogs? Their entire purpose in life is to make people feel better. According to a recent article in Time magazine, pet therapy is actually used alongside conventional medicine. Th e article pointed out that there isn’t one major children’s hospital in the country that doesn’t allow pets on its floors for some kind of pet therapy program.

Dr. Christa Kahuda of Charleston Harbor Veterinarians in downtown Charleston said, “Th e worldwide One Health initiative coined the term zooeyia, which refers to the many positive benefits to human health from interacting with animals. Pets provide us with physical touch when we are in need of comfort, an ear for our problems and a laugh after a long day.”

Pets can provide physical as well as emotional help for their owners, even helping to reduce the effects of allergies. It might seem strange that the very thing that causes allergies – pet dander – can actually end up reducing it, but it’s true. A study published in Th e Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology showed that babies exposed to animals in their home developed stronger immune systems overall.

Both Dr. Kahuda and Hecker said the species and breed do not matter when it comes to reducing stress.

“They become family members and provide the connection and sense of belonging that we as humans crave,” Dr. Kahuda said.

Caring for an animal teaches the very valid lesson of being selfless and realizing that someone depends on you for care and love. Many empty nesters find that owning a pet provides them with that sense of purpose again that parenting gave them for so many years.

As Hecker put it, “What could be better for our mental health than knowing that just our existence creates so much happiness and love in someone else’s life?”

And that, my friends, is why you get a pet – in case you were on the fence.

By Theresa Stratford

I would be willing to bet that most of us have enjoyed the companionship and comfort of a four-legged, furry friend at some point in our lives. From the family dog growing up to the aging cat that settles into life right alongside all of our twists and turns of adulthood, one thing is certain – our beloved animals are more like family than pets.

So it should be of no surprise that the amazing staff at Advanced Animal Care is looking to find new ways to reach out to the community and provide additional services to help keep animals as healthy as possible.

The newest of these services is in fact not a service but a full-fledged nonprofit, meant to help people with circumstantial issues that become a deterrent for proper pet care.

East Cooper Pet Relief – the official name of the charitable organization headed by Dr. Leslie Steele – is bringing more than just hope and checkups to the Charleston area, however, with a major focus being the critical number of stray cats and dogs that populate the Lowcountry. As a result, Dr. Steele and her team will be providing spay and neuter services for family pets and strays alike, hoping to take a bite out of the dog-and-cat population explosion.

Recalling a quote from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals a few years back, Steele said, “For there to be no homeless pets in the United States, every single man, woman and child would have to have seven personal pets – and it’s only gotten worse since then.”

Dr. Steele said it’s more than people simply not caring. The problem often is due to circumstances such as unwanted breeding or animals that are in poor health. Sometimes it is an issue of not having the funds to pay for the care, while for people it comes down to their access to transportation – especially for the elderly.

Hopefully, East Cooper Pet Relief, set up specifically to help pet owners with low incomes or no means of transportation, will lead to better health for pets with homes and fewer animals without homes.

“It’s so important that people continue to have their pets alongside of them – especially the senior community that depends on the companionship of these animals,” said Dr. Steele, who sees a bright future for East Cooper Pet Relief and is looking forward to planned fundraisers and even to the prospect of making the organization a mobile venture sometime soon.

I think we can all agree that the animals that come into our lives make a dramatic impact on us. Whether you’ve had a puppy from its birth, adopted an older animal from a shelter or simply befriended the neighborhood cat, there is a special place in all of our hearts for the simplistic and honest love of an animal. Now, thanks to Dr. Steele and her team at Advanced Animal Care, we can help take care of these furry friends better than ever before.

East Cooper Pet Relief is on Facebook.

By Krysta Chapman