Pet visitation program brings joy and healing to participants

September 9, 2008

The favorite visitor of many of the residents of the Antonia Community Support Residential program doesn't ever judge them. He has no preconceived notions about their mental illness and doesn't treat them differently from anyone else. Plus, he loves having his fluffy white hair brushed. And being scratched behind the ears.

For the last year, Sasha the dog has been making a monthly visit to the Antonia in Uptown, part of the pet visitation program run by the Anti-Cruelty Society. For the 16 participants at the Antonia program—adults who have a serious and persistent mental illness—spending 90 minutes with Sasha is something to look forward to, and his biggest fans groom him and take him for walks and on field trips.

"It is an excellent program," says Diana, who has lived at the Antonia for the last three and a half years. "It's so much fun to have Sasha here. He is so intelligent."

Ashley Allen, the manager of business operations for mental health and addiction services at Heartland Alliance, says that for residents like Diana, regular interaction with Sasha provides a lot, from an easy, neutral topic of conversation with fellow participants to the simple tactile pleasures of petting a dog. "It invites people to be more open and interact with others," she says. "Having Sasha come by brings a lot of joy to a lot of people living here, and that's not necessarily something that they've felt recently. It's a pretty special relationship."

Heartland Alliance has operated the Antonia for more than a dozen years, providing a home and services to people who may have no other options. Some residents havedealt with homelessness or substance-use issues, and all have a chronic mental illness. Sasha's visits are part of the spirit of the program, which is built on the importance of community, where residents mingle in the living room and staff and residents work together to make meals at times.

Sasha's services have been so successful that he was honored as the Anti-Cruelty Society's Volunteer of the Month for June (residents of the Antonia celebrated by baking him a dog cake for his next visit). "Pet visitation is one of those win-win situations. The dog has a good time. The owners get to spend time with their pet and feel good about helping. And you can see when you arrive that visiting with your dog can really make a difference," says Alicia Obando, the coordinator of special projects with the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago and herself a former volunteer in the pet visitation program.

Sasha is one of more than a dozen dogs that volunteer with the Anti-Cruelty Society, visiting places such as hospitals and nursing homes. Allen says that the program has been so successful that Heartland Alliance is on the waiting list for dogs to visit some of its other mental health and addiction service programs.

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