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Canines' care
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Pets are known to have therapeutic value. A pilot project in the City has roped in dogs to interact with autistic and HIV positive children.
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A pet's love is totally unconditional.
LONELINESS IS perhaps the most serious disability of our times. More so in the case of people with disabilities. And when the disability is autism, the sense of isolation is complete. Most autistic children appear normal, but have destructive or disturbing behaviour. They may stare into space for hours, throw terrible tantrums, show no interest in people and surroundings, and pursue pointless, repetitive activities. Some individuals are remarkably gifts in certain areas like music or mathematics.
"Autistic children have a problem communicating and are unable to express themselves, and thus shy away from social contact," says Jaishree, Director of Asha, a daycare home for autistic children. "They have a tendency to remain withdrawn."
Autistic children can only concentrate on one thing at a time, and this makes dynamic interaction difficult for them. They go into a shell and prefer to be alone. In an effort to make these children open out, Asha has taken the unusual step of taking the help of dogs. The project is called Doctor Dog.
"Dogs are sensitive towards children and help bring out a child's emotion without any inhibition," says Ms. Jaishree. "Moreover, it is simple for autistic children to interact with dogs as this not involve any language com- plexities."
She explains: "Initially, some children have a fear for animals. But, these fears can be overcome. The child starts accepting the presence of the dog and gets rid of his fears. He starts caring for the dog and bonds with it."
Bruno is a Golden Retriever who visits Asha every Thursday. "He loves playing with children," says Prakash, his owner. "He gets excited and starts jumping in the car as we approach the place."
Ms. Jaishree hopes to develop this activity and tries to intensify the experience for children by making the visits more frequent. "In due course, this activity itself or animal handling in general can be a possible vocation for some."
Mahadevaiah, neurologist and specialist in child development, is a consultant at Asha. He says: "There is no harm in trying such a novel idea."
Devdutt, Co-ordinator of the project Doctor Dog, says: "I came in contact with CUPA and they informed me that they already had the know-how to implement such a project."
CUPA Vice-President Suparna explains: "Such an enterprise was first started by Jill Robinson in Hong Kong. She came over to Bangalore in January last year and gave us the inputs for the programme." This programme is voluntary and was launched here in August. "Currently two organisations in Bangalore are using Doctor Dog, and Crystal House is contemplating participation," she adds.
Freedom Foundation, home for children born with HIV, is also involved with this programme. Madhuri, who is in charge of children at the Foundation says: "Interaction with dogs makes the child more helpful." Her supervisor Nirmala adds: "These children have been abandoned, they require some kind of emotional bonding. Dogs encourage such feelings. Whenever the dog comes, usually on Mondays, the kids want to feed it and they actually yearn for its attention." It also inculcates love for animals in the kids, she adds.
Hugo is the three-year-old Labrador paying his weekly visit to Freedom Foundation. Nandini Kamath, Hugo's owner, says: "Hugo is part of our family. He is the stress-buster in our family. He radiates positive energy that can elevate anyone's mood." It was by chance that she got to know about Doctor Dog. She had taken Hugo for grooming at CUPA when she found out about the concept. "He's so much fun to be with, I wanted to share him with someone who could benefit from him," she adds.
Mr. Devdutt explains the procedure for a dog to become a Doctor Dog: "We involve pet owners who wish to take part in such activities. The dog is then certified by CUPA before we take it to meet children."
Lohit, a veterinary doctor with CUPA, says: "We perform a physical and a psychological evaluation on the dog." The dog has to be healthy and immunised. It has to be friendly and should not be overweight, nor should it be averse to meeting strangers and physical handling by children. It should have had some basic training and must be easy to control.
Dr. Lohit says: "There is no specific breed that automatically qualifies for such a project, but Labradors and Golden Retrievers have shown to be consistent with the temperament required for it." Out of the five dogs certified by CUPA, two are Labradors and one is a Golden Retriever. "However," he adds, "the temperament of the dogs depends mainly upon the atmosphere in its household. Prince, for example, is an Irish Setter awaiting his certification." His owner is 14-year-old Nithanth, an avid animal lover who has 22 pets, ranging from rabbits to a horse.
Mr. Devdutt feels that other animals can be used to serve the purpose in addition to dogs. "Our effort is in its infancy, and dogs have been dependable over the years Dogs play a central role, after all they are man's best friend."
Anyone willing to volunteer can contact Mr. Devdutt at 3492540, CUPA at 3413427 or e-mail cupablr@vsnl.net.
HIRANYA BHARADWAJ
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