Hospice healing on four legs: Canine program looks to lift up spirits through canine visits

Call it intuition or some preternatural instinct, but Molly — a 6-year-old golden retriever — seems to have some sort of special ability to connect with her two-legged clients, owner/handler Dave Christofferson says.

“If someone’s hurting, she picks up on it whether it’s physical or mental,” he says. “She’ll give everyone attention.”

Molly is one of the newer volunteers with Assured Hospice of Olympic Peninsula, who are looking to expand what the organization calls its Animal Assisted Interactions.

Caitlin Charles, Volunteer and Comfort Therapy Coordinator for Assured Hospice, says the organization already offers a number of forms of therapy for its clients, from massage to music to Reiki.

It was through an unscheduled visit from Dave and Molly a couple of years ago that has added canine comfort to Assured Hospice’s clients, family and staff alike.

“We’ve seen how beneficial it’s been,” says Charles. “(The) timing was impeccable. We were very lucky to have found Dave and Molly.”

Christofferson worked for more than three decades at paper mills before he and his family retired from Northwest Washington to the Sequim area in 2011.

His — and Molly’s — connection with dog therapy was born out of a difficult circumstance: Christofferson’s father Marshall was in a nursing home in Camas, Wa., and Christofferson would take Molly on his visits two or three times per week.

“The whole staff fell in love with her,” Christofferson says.

When his wife noted how much comfort Molly was bringing and how mild she was and suggested Christofferson look into training Molly to become a therapy dog, he jumped.

“We knew she had that special gift with people,” he says.

That spurred the Sequim duo to start making visits to various facilities throughout the Sequim area, from Olympic Medical Center’s cancer facility to Sequim Health & Rehabilitation Center to Avamere Olympic Rehabilitation of Sequim. Their visits began to grow to four or five times a week, and often two facilities on the same day.

“People recognize her on the street,” Christofferson says.

Molly would find subtle ways to connect with everyone, he says, from people who once had pets but can’t have them in their health facility to those who had dogs or cats in their youth, to others who simply enjoy the comfort of a mild-mannered pooch.

“It just makes you feel so good, makes it all worthwhile,” Christofferson says.

Molly, who now makes weekly visits for Assured Hospice, is also now a Certified Therapy Dog through Therapy Dogs International, which provides insurance for her services.

“It’s been incredible the reactions (hospice) patients have had,” Charles notes. “The whole room lights up.”

“Caregivers need it too, sometimes more,” Christofferson notes. “They get burned out too.”

Charles says canine therapy isn’t the only volunteer opportunity with Assured Hospice: the organization is also seeking helpers with their office and administrative duties, emotional support for families and caregivers, respite support and more.

“Caring for the terminally ill is a labor of love that requires a special person with just the right touch,” she says. “If you have a passion for helping others, consider becoming a hospice volunteer. You can make a profound difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones.”

Christofferson says he’s been around dogs all of his life but has never made a connection like this to others in his community, all starting out of a connection with his father.

“It’s my way of honoring him,” Christofferson says.

For more about Assured Hospice of Olympic Peninsula, see www.assuredhospiceolympicpeninsula.com.