In honor of National Dog Day, we’d like to introduce you to Adventist HealthCare White Oak’s facility dog, Peru. Peru is a golden retriever trained by Canine Companions, an organization that places service dogs with people who have disabilities, to support her handler, rehabilitation psychologist Heather Tropiano, Psy.D. Below you’ll see a Q&A that explains a little more about what Peru does (Note: the Q&A is not with Peru).
Q: What is a facility dog?
A: Facility dogs like me help patients work toward specific treatment goals.
Q: How long have you been working with Adventist HealthCare Rehab?
A: I became an official member of the inpatient rehab team on Sept. 21, 2020, after a year of acclimating to the hospital environment. Now, Dr. Tropiano has set goals for me, and we are measuring my success in helping patients heal.
Q: How did you learn how to help patients?
A: I engaged in extensive, focused training for two weeks to learn more than 40 commands. During that time, Dr. Tropiano and I also learned how to work with one another and the best ways to utilize my abilities in a rehabilitation setting.
Q: What is your typical day like?
A: Dr. Tropiano and I check into Rehab White Oak in the morning. I practice my “push” command by summoning the elevator to the sixth floor, where I work. Dr. Tropiano plans my schedule. On a recent day, I started by spending 30 minutes playing ring toss with a patient while Dr. Tropiano assessed their progress. Next, I helped another patient use their stroke-affected hand to string beads.
At lunch, I go for a long walk around the hospital campus and complete a quick 5- to 10-minute training session on a new command. In the afternoon, I join Dr. Tropiano to help a patient who is having a hard time adjusting to a spinal cord injury. I am commanded to visit while the patient talks about adjusting to their new condition. I provide comfort in ways that humans sometimes cannot.
Before getting into the car to go home, I am rewarded with a few rounds of fetch outside!
Courtesy of Adventist Healthcare
