Shine On! Therapy Dog Program

What is a “Therapy Dog”?

A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, people with learning difficulties, and people in stressful situations such as disaster areas.

The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is its temperament. A good therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and at ease in all situations. Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted and handled, sometimes clumsily.

A therapy dog’s primary job is to allow unfamiliar people to make physical contact with it and to enjoy that contact. Children in particular enjoy hugging animals and research has shown that this contact helps to reduce the child’s stress and cheer them up. Many dogs contribute to the visiting experience by performing small tricks for their audience or by playing carefully structured games.

Shine On! Therapy Dog Program

This is Japan’s first full-time Animal Assisted Therapy Dog program at a children’s hospital in Japan.

Launched in January 2010 at Shizuoka Children’s Hospital, the Tyler Foundation provides to the hospital a therapy dog trained in the US for 1.5 years from a puppy and a trained nurse-handler. The Tyler Foundation chose to source their therapy dog, Bailey, from the US since such rigorous training systems for this highly stressful job are not yet in place in Japan.

In addition, the Tyler Foundation chose to hire a pediatric nurse, Yuko Morita, to train as a Bailey’s handler. This minimizes risk in the hospital setting and it puts families and medical staff at ease knowing that an experienced nurse, rather than just a volunteer, is working closely with patients. In addition, Yuko’s medical background facilitates her gathering and use of therapy data.

Program Summary

Goal	:	Improving treatment outcome and improve children’s approach to medical treatment/therapy.
Need	:	Children receiving treatment for cancer and other serious illness undergo enormous stress. A therapy dog can provide great relief and encouragement during this challenging process.
Description	:	Japan’s first, full time Animal Assisted Therapy program at a children’s hospital.
Program Leader	:	Yuko Morita
Term	:	Launched at Shizuoka Children’s Hospital in January 2010.

Special Thanks

We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Takayuki Kumasaka of the Nursing Studies Department, Faculty of Health Studies, Japan University of Health Sciences, and Dr. Hideo Masu, University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences Assistant Professor, for their advice and support in starting this program.

Support the Shine On! Therapy Dog Program

Love our Shine On! Therapy Dog Program and want to support it? Select your desired amount below to make an automatic payment via PayPal (can be cancelled any time prior to each payment date).

Inquiries

For any inquiries regarding this program, please do not contact the above-mentioned hospitals directly. Please first contact the Tyler Foundation via info@tylershineon.org.