DAPHNE, Ala. — Long-term care patients at Covenant Hospice in Daphne may have brighter days ahead, with visits from volunteers and their pets. Paws for Patients — an animal-assisted therapy program — will have its orientation meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the hospice, 1040 Stanton Road. Covenant Hospice in Mobile started the program in 2006; Dr. Kate Thomas, the Daphne hospice’s medical director, was interested in Wednesday’s meeting because she’s seen successful results from animal-assisted therapy.

“I found it to be so valuable with patients and their family members. It can calm what could be an uptight situation,” she said of her experiences in Cleveland. “The pets love it; it’s almost like they know they’re doing something good.”

Dementia patients respond to touching animals’ fur, she said.

“It was the only sign of a stimulation and something that was pleasant to her,” she said of one patient’s reaction.

Animal’s purported sixth sense also aids in the hospice setting, she said.

“We had a dog that every time a crisis situation would come up, she would go into the room and just sit on the floor and just be there,” Thomas said. “Sally (the dog) just knew when things were happening.”

C.J. Weinstein, Daphne’s Paws for Patients volunteer coordinator, researched the program and said she’s found only good reports.

“Animals are therapeutic to the sick and end-of-life patients. They’re soothing and give unconditional love; they come and just sit with the patients — they don’t expect anything,” she said.

Weinstein said pet therapy was a natural step for Covenant.

“(Patients are) thrilled to have a volunteer come and visit; they know they’re volunteering their time. It’s an extension of what we’re doing with people,” she said.

Patients often feel more at ease opening up to animals than with people, according to Weinstein.

“They (patients) could be a little boy again or talk about their dog they had 50 years ago,” she said.

Requirements for the program include obedience training for pets and an eight-hour course taught by Weinstein. She will make the process convenient and “meet people where they are,” she said of her wilingness to come to volunteers’ homes or any other convenient place for the training. The visual training session includes information on Covenant, a not-for-profit organization that provides care for terminal patients regardless of ability to pay. The course will also familiarize volunteers with boundaries and communication with end-of-life patients.

“It’s a test we do together; nobody fails it,” she said.

Further accreditation is encouraged but not required through Delta Society, an international not-for-profit organization that provides training and certification for about $400.

Volunteers must also pass a tuberculosis screening and a background check. There’s no minimum time requirement for volunteer hours.

Pets should be dogs or cats over 1 year old with a calm temperament; size may vary, according to Cynthia Clark-Pesce, an accredited pet-training instructor at Petsmart in Spanish Fort. Clark-Pesce will perform obedience training and provide information on Canine Good Citizen and Delta certification for Paws for Patients volunteers.

Basic training includes learning commands such as down and stay, sit and stay and come, she said. Also, pets must be groomed within 24 hours of each visit with patients.

For more information on Paws for Patients’ Wednesday meeting, call Weinstein at 626-5255.