Nina and Dafne crossed the corridors, sniffed everything around and met some little friends, more or less of the same age and then... they let themselves be petted.
Nina and Dafne are a golden retriever and a labrador who spent an afternoon with the children hospitalized in the Pediatrics ward of the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where, after the pandemic, the Pet Therapy project was reactivated.
The project is called Basta una zampa, it was conceived by For a Smile Onlus and supported and sponsored by Elanco, with the staff of IAA professional assistants of the Cooperative Tempo per l'Infanzia for children and young people hospitalized at the Pediatrics Unit.
From today and for the next six months, meetings with the puppies of the Basta una Paw project will be held twice a month at the Pediatrics Unit.
The San Raffaele hospital had already hosted the Basta una zampa project in 2019, which 7 years after its birth, gave support to more than 35 thousand children in 8 different hospitals in Italy but then the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the activities
When asked what the benefit of pet therapy could be, at a clinical level, for small hospitalized patients, Dr. Maria Pia Guarneri, pediatrician of the San Donato Group, replies that it will be "a very great benefit because it will help them in a resocialization project, the dog will give him the opportunity to reconnect with new human relationships, after years in which human relationships have been limited due to the pandemic.
Today we have reopened the doors to play and smiles”.
"Our association, For a Smile onlus, was born with this project and we are starting again with all the hospitals in Italy - says the president Ludovica Vanni -. We are happy because we have activities in paediatrics, with many children in therapy to whom we can bring a smile. We strongly believe in this activity, especially in the light of new research carried out in Canada on pet therapy in hospitals, which showed that after 10 minutes (of pet therapy activity) in children, there is a drop in heart rate and blood sugar and there is a general improvement in health conditions. When a child sees a four-legged friend running towards him, the routine of hospital life suddenly changes. Curiosity and the desire to get out of bed are ignited and play.Dog-Pet Therapy helps young patients to increase self-confidence, reducing tension and improving their psycho-physical well-being, thus giving joy to their families too".
Milan, the 'Basta una paw' project returns to the San Raffaele after the pandemic
The aim of the project is to improve the care path of young patients through sensory and emotional stimuli, playful-creative activities, socialization, knowledge, human-animal interaction is promoted with the aim of mutual well-being.
The dog-pet therapy experience with young patients aims to: increase self-confidence, develop verbal and non-verbal language in communication, promote a sense of protection in a phase dominated by uncertainty, give a moment where being able to vent one's emotions, improve some motor aspects, improve team spirit.
Pet therapy, Giarnieri (San Raffaele): 'Crucial dog for children's sociability'
What is Pet Therapy
Already in 1961, the child neuropsychiatrist Boris Levinson had shown how the proximity of a pet, especially his dog, had beneficial effects on a child with autism.
The use
of pets for the purpose of Pet Therapy was recognized as an official treatment by the Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of 28 February 2003, but in fact since 1997 the Ministry of Health has financed various trials aimed at people
with cognitive, behavioral and psychological.
In 2009, it was then established by the Ministry at the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of
Venice the National Reference Center for animal assisted interventions (pet therapy), which is responsible for creating national guidelines for animal assisted interventions, studying new fields of application and training operators.
"Interaction with animals helps both patients and their families to ease the tension and stress of hospitalization, creating a complicity with the dog that gives joy and serenity", says Dr. Graziano Barera, head of Pediatrics at the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital.