Field Trip!

I have three classes left to finish my Master's in Social Work and I am taking two classes this fall. One class is from 6-9pm which makes for a pretty long day after being at work. In my Mental Health and Social Policy class we have several field trips to different mental health settings, including the Austin State Hospital, an outpatient mental health clinic and a Residential Treatment Center for girls. These visits make the course content more real and provides real concrete examples of the implications of policy on treatment settings.

The first field trip was to the Austin State Hospital, which serves as one of 11 inpatient mental health facilities in Texas. We had been told we would get a tour of the campus but I hadn't expected that we would be going into some of the units and having direct interaction with the patients so I didn't think there would be any reason to leave Morey at home. As it turned out, we actually did get to see the units firsthand and as you might imagine, Morey attracted quite a bit of attention!

We got to visit three inpatient units, including the acute care unit, the geriatric unit and the "DD" (dual diagnosis) unit. Each of these patient populations were quite different and showed the complexity of mental health conditions. We visited the day rooms of each of these units where there were patients wandering around and I quickly realized there was no point in trying to keep the patients from interacting with Morey. Although we were quite a large group of people, the patients really only showed interest in Morey. Many of the patients had unusual body movements (waving hands, uneven gait) and some were making loud vocalizations and I could tell Morey was slightly unsure about the whole environment. This was especially true in the DD unit where most of the patients had Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities as well as a mental health condition. The staff were helpful in encouraging the patients to give us space and ask before petting Morey but he still got a good amount of petting and attention that was a bit overwhelming.

Although I try to be proactive in avoiding situations that are stressful for Morey, the reality of service dog life means that on occasion he will have to put up with less than ideal situations. This means it is very important for service dogs to be able to tolerate a good amount of stress in "socially appropriate" ways without completely shutting down.  I kept a close eye on Morey's body language as we visited the units and recognized that he was going through many of the stress-relieving behaviors, including yawning, shaking himself off and sniffing the floor. While normally I would ask him to "Leave it" if he was sniffing the floor, in this case I let him go, knowing that he needed to engage in some canine self care!

When we got back to the meeting room where we were having the remainder of our class, the ASH superintendent gave us all squishy yellow "stress stars" with the ASH logo on them. He gave one to me and asked if Morey would like one. I accepted and then tossed it for Morey, not really expecting him to do much with it. I was surprised to see Morey catch the star then toss it up in the air and let it fall on the floor, only to bat it around with his paws. He looked like such a puppy as he entertained himself with the star for a few minutes and I realized he was continuing to "de-stress". When you share so much of your life with a different species it is very helpful to have some understanding of their behavior and body language. If you understand what your dog is communicating it is much easier for you to respond in an appropriate way. This experience was a good reminder for me to brush up on my canine communication skills! (One of my favorite books for this is Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide by Brenda Aloff)

The ASH staff and my classmates all complimented Morey on being such a professional in the face of a stressful environment. They also all noticed how many of the patients interacted with Morey in a very different way than they interacted with the people in the room. Apparently there are therapy dog teams that visit the units on weekends and I can see that is probably a very much anticipated and enjoyed activity for many of the patients. However, I don't think Morey will be signing up to volunteer for that any time soon!