As the cool fall weather was finally settling in western Alabama, volunteers with Therapeutic Riding of Tuscaloosa set-up a petting zoo for a Halloween festival at Moundville Health and Rehabilitation. During this event, a University of Alabama student carried small animals around the nursing home to interact with individuals that were less mobile. Carrying a baby goat dressed in his warm costume, she laughed with residents and listened to them as they pet the goat and shared memories of their own animals growing up. At the end of the visit, many expressed how they wished they could have students and animals visit at all times of the year. The request for more animal visits was restated by many family members and staff. Dr. Margo Malone, founder and clinical psychologist at TROT, had been incorporating therapy animals into her practice for years as she worked with patients in nursing home settings. Through long-term rapport-building, the nursing home community had come to trust her name and her animals. That summer, the student, Lauren, asked Dr. Malone if she could visit weekly at the nursing home facilities where Dr. Malone saw patients. Dr. Malone agreed and Lauren began taking approved animals to three nursing homes.
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As this student visited, she quickly saw her own perceptions change related to aging and mental illness, and she felt more connected to generations that were distant from her in years but very similar in their love of animals.
Fellow animal lovers, Jade and Taylor, began visiting nursing homes with Lauren and the three starting the initial groundwork for a student-run outreach program. Later, Erin joined, and the four of them, with TROT staff and nursing home partners, organized a plan and completed necessary paperwork. In September 2018, the Geriatric Organization for Animal Therapy (GOAT) became a UA SOURCE-registered organization. That fall, more students began to join and the organization trained 25 therapy animal handlers.
Today, GOAT visits two nursing homes a week in order to foster a positive environment and to promote social and emotional wellness in residents and staff. Students involved with GOAT report having a new perspective on geriatrics from the relationships they form, and both the residents and students share that the visits add something special to their week.
Fellow animal lovers, Jade and Taylor, began visiting nursing homes with Lauren and the three starting the initial groundwork for a student-run outreach program. Later, Erin joined, and the four of them, with TROT staff and nursing home partners, organized a plan and completed necessary paperwork. In September 2018, the Geriatric Organization for Animal Therapy (GOAT) became a UA SOURCE-registered organization. That fall, more students began to join and the organization trained 25 therapy animal handlers.
Today, GOAT visits two nursing homes a week in order to foster a positive environment and to promote social and emotional wellness in residents and staff. Students involved with GOAT report having a new perspective on geriatrics from the relationships they form, and both the residents and students share that the visits add something special to their week.
We put patients' privacy as a priority.
Please read the excerpt from GOAT's HIPAA Policy below regarding photos of patients.
GOAT adheres to strict HIPAA guidelines and due to this, members are not allowed to take photos of patients. Pictures of patients shown above are from nursing homes that have photo release agreements for certain patients. We only repost photos from these nursing homes' social media pages. Sources for these posts are included with each photo and links are included under Resources.