Story of Debra Bryant and Cassie, Therapy Pets of Greater Cincinnati

Therapy dogs are patient's best friend

This article appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer November 13, 2009

Contributed By: Rachel Richardson | The Enquirer

Radar has no degree and he cannot talk, but for Scott Smith, a young man with debilitating Crohn’s disease, he was just what the doctor ordered.

The golden retriever police dog and his handler, Cincinnati Police Officer Mike Brogan, paid a surprise visit to the 21-year-old Union Township man’s room at Christ Hospital last month.

The visit had been arranged through Pet Therapy of Greater Cincinnati after a volunteer learned of Smith’s longtime interest in law enforcement and especially, the use of dogs in police work.

“I was doing everything to get him to cheer up and forget about his illness for a moment and nothing was working,” said Bev Smith-Dincler, Scott’s mother. “The minute he saw the officer with the canine, I burst into tears… it was such a special moment because Scott smiled from ear-to-ear and I hadn’t seen that in such a long time. I couldn’t stop crying. It was a beautiful thing.”

Diagnosed at age 12 with Crohn’s disease, a chronic gastrointestinal (GI) illness in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells in the GI tract, Smith’s illness has robbed him of much of his childhood and his dream of becoming a canine unit police officer, said Smith-Dincler.

Smith’s frequent hospitalizations required him to miss much of middle- and high school but he still managed to graduate on the honor roll with the help of tutors. He twice enrolled in college for criminal justice but was never able to finish a quarter.

When he’s not in the hospital, Smith prefers to stay home, preferring the comfort of solitude to stares at his colostomy bag and intravenous feeding tube, said his mother.

“The doctors can’t seem to get his disease under control,” said Smith-Dincler. “His pediatric Crohn’s doctor said he’s in the top one percent of the population that has severe, severe Crohn’s.”

“A lot of things have been taken away from Scott and he’s extremely frustrated” she added. “We just keep praying every single day that something changes and that his health starts to improve.”

But where medicine fails, a furry face and lolling tongue may succeed.

Nursing homes, mental-health centers and other health-care organizations have long recognized the benefits of companion animals – whether service and therapy animals or family pets – on human health.

“It’s just amazing what they can do,” said Glenna Mockbee, director of Pet Therapy of Greater Cincinnati. “They bring this unconditional love and caring and they want to help.”

With more than 20 years experience, Mockbee founded the nonprofit organization five years ago. The group now includes more than 200 volunteers who visit schools, nursing homes and hospitals with certified therapy dogs, cats, birds and even a chinchilla.

“Even when I go into hospice, all of a sudden you see a smile,” said Mockbee, of Mason. “When I go into Shriner’s Burn Hospital … they’re trying to get the kids to walk and they’re in extreme pain but you hand them a dog leash and all of a sudden they want to do it. It gives them motivation.”

For Smith, the surprise visit not only sparked a renewed resolve to continue fighting his illness, but also hope for the future, said his mother. He now plans to start training therapy dogs once his illness allows it.

“That’s the one night that Scott talks about the most and it’s the first story he tells his friends,” said Smith-Dincler. “It meant the world to my son and I can’t thank those volunteers enough."

Scott Smith with Therapy Dogs