NURSING-HOME STAFFS EMPATHY FOR A MISSING THERAPY DOG, THEIR ATTITUDES TO ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY PROGRAMS AND SUITABLE DOG BREEDS

The study was conducted at the Returned Soldiers League (RSL) War Vete rans Home at Pinjarra Hills (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) where a spayed female Whippet, Heidi, was placed as a therapy dog. Of the 80 s taff members, 47 (58.75%) returned completed questionnaires on attitud es towards Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) programs and the disappearanc e of Heidi two days after placement. The Pet Attitude Scale (Templer e t al. 1981) was used in conjunction with the staff attitude questionna ire. Respondents with high Pet Attitude scores were more upset (chi((2 ))(2)=8.41, p<0.05) and liked dogs more (chi((2))(2)=7.03, p<0.05) tha n staff with medium or low scores. The staff with high scores were als o more pleased when Heidi returned (X-(1)(2)=15.97, p<0.05). Responden ts who wanted a program were those who liked dogs the most (chi((1))(2 )=7.02, p<0.05) and did not think having an AAT program would increase their workload (chi((1))(2)=3.77, p<0.05). Staff who thought a dog sh ould live at the nursing home were pleased (chi((1))(2)=5.2, p<0:05) w hen Heidi returned. Gentle/placid dogs were more frequently chosen (78 .7%) than active dogs as suitable for AAT and the preferred size was m edium (57.5%) with a short coat (78.7%).