- Title: ISRAEL: ALZHEIMER GUIDE DOG
- Date: 15th April 2004
- Summary: (L!3) MEVO HORON, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) CLOSE OF BELLA, A DOG TRAINED BY ALZHEIMER'S AID DOG PROJECT TO HELP ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS, WALKING ALONG STREET WITH REUBEN, (AN ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT WHO REMAINS ANONYMOUS / FACE NOT SEEN) WIDE OF BELLA LEADING REUBEN ALONG PATH REUBEN PLAYING WITH BELLA AND STROKING HER REUBEN PETTING BELLA CLOSE OF BELLA (SOUNDBITE) (Hebre
- Embargoed: 30th April 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MEVO HORON & RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Environment
- Reuters ID: LVADID8V0EJ4C1JDCTZHPI9AC37P
- Story Text: Israeli Alzheimer's patients get new lease on life.
Reuben, a 62-year-old Israeli man suffering from the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, says that since Bella came to live with him his life has been transformed.
Bella is a Smooth Collie, the first graduate of the Alzheimer's Aid Dog project, a four-year collaboration in Israel between her trainer, Yariv Ben-Yossef, and social worker Daphna Golan-Shemesh.
Reuben has had two and half-year-old Bella for more than a year. When he gets lost he commands her with the word "habaita", Hebrew for home.
"She has helped me find my way (home) many times. That is to say I didn't know where I was, several times, and I said the word 'home' to her in Hebrew and she happily took me back home" Reuben said.
The medium-size black and white dog is much more than a guide. She is a companion who gets Reuben out of bed on days when he does not want to get up by licking him or pulling off the covers.
Reuben, who did not want his full name disclosed, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's three years ago. He participated in an Alzheimer's support group and as it was known that he liked animals, he was asked to take part in the canine pilot.
Though there are projects around the world that have trained dogs to assist caregivers for Alzheimer's patients, the Israeli endeavour is the only one that also pairs patients and animals.
According to Golan-Shemesh, 10 percent of the elderly suffer from dementia, of which Alzheimer's is one form. She said a major problem with sufferers is their feeling of seclusion and isolation.
Bella helps boost Reuben's self image, she said, noting that he can once again pick up his grandchildren from school. "(Reuben) the person who has the first dog, Bella, has begun now to take his grandchildren out of school and nursing home, which he couldn't do before because his daughter couldn't rely on him finding his way home. But now he's getting into grandfather functioning again which is so important for him".
"The dog is an anchor to regular activity" Golan-Shemesh said. "The dog demands the person to go out of the house, to train it, to feed it, to get out of bed, to play with it.
And when the person goes out to society also there's much more interaction with him".
Bella helps family members as well, reducing their stress and bringing them together through their co-operation in training her.
The dog is equipped with a global positioning device so that if Reuben is gone for a long time or he forgets the home command, the family can pinpoint their location. They can also dial a special phone number that sends out to Bella a high-pitched tone, signalling the dog to bring Reuben home.
Early stage Alzheimer's patients can lead a normal life with the dog. Without the dog they would be in life-threatening situations. Statistics show that patients not found within 12 hours of getting lost will probably turn up dead.
Family participation is vital in this project as Reuben is responsible for Bella's care, including walking and feeding her.
Alzheimer's patients have difficulty remembering to complete routine tasks and Reuben's wife and son must step in if he forgets to give Bella food and water.
The cost of training Bella and fitting her with a special harness and the global positioning system is about $16,000, compared with $12,000 for a regular guide dog.
So far, Ben-Yossef's Disabled Service Dog centre has funded the cost of the project but his goal of having 25 dogs working with Alzheimer's victims by next year will depend on finding more financing.
Ben-Yossef works exclusively with Collies for the project and a second dog will graduate soon.
The centre has also trained dogs to assist later stage patients, some of whom are in nursing homes. The dogs bark to alert caregivers if a patient leaves the premises and can press an SOS box if there is a gas leak and even turn off the gas.
Golan-Shemesh said not enough has been done with early stage Alzheimer patients and believes dogs can play a big role in delaying the slide into the later stages of the disease.
Reuben said Bella has helped tremendously in preventing a deterioration in his condition.
"Since Bella came, things have been completely different" he said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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