TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- The Civic Center was packed, with dogs and people, for the 35th annual Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Foundation Golden Gala. This year, proceeds will go toward the animal therapy program at TMH.
The animal therapy program at TMH is the only one of its kind in the Big Bend. Animal therapists say, hundreds of trials show petting an animal is enough to reduce stress and anxiety. That's why so many local volunteers take their animals to visit patients around the Big Bend with varying physical and mental conditions.
Chuck Mitchell is the Honorary Chair at the 35th annual Golden Gala. He says, "13 years ago we were brought into the world of animal therapy by this extraordinary dog named Rikki. Working with her really showed us the power of the human animal bond and how animal therapy can really be used to harness that power of healing."
Rikki is one of 150 animals in the program who the Michell's say have helped thousands of patients since it began in 2005. Volunteers take their animals to visit hospitals, assisted living facilities, and even courthouses. Mitchell says, "We work in the courts with kids who have been victims of sexual assault, who can't find their voice to testify. But in every case we work, Rikki was able to help the kids be able to find their voice."
One dog, Cosmo, has been in the program for 6 years. He often visits people with limited mobility. When Tonya Cody, his owner, tells him to rest, he lays his head on a patients bed or wheelchair. Cody, Animal Therapy Volunteer, says, "You will visit 10, 12 different patients in their rooms. Your dog will sit up on a chair next to the bed and that's the highlight of their day."Cody says, being a part of the program is unbelievably rewarding.
Money raised at the 35th annual Golden Gala will allow the animal therapy program to add more animals and volunteers, growing their Big Bend services, so animals can work their healing magic on even more people.
