Whether you are an animal lover or not there is no denying the bond between humans and their pets. Silent Sidekicks takes that one step farther. They were founded in November of 2012, with one team, now they have 18 teams. So who are they?
Silent Sidekicks is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides information and education about animal-assisted therapy/activities and the services of trained volunteer handler/animal teams to communities throughout the state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
Representatives from Silent Sidekicks recently visited with the Houlton Rotary Club to explain their organization. Their goals are to provide comfort, support and companionship through animal-assisted therapy and activities and to increase public awareness of the benefits of the human-animal bond.
Silent Sidekicks’ mission is to enrich people’s lives and promote health and happiness through positive experiences with animals. They accomplish this by creating events and activities in the community that promote the awareness of the benefits of the human-animal bond. Silent Sidekicks recruit, train and match teams with health care facilities, hospitals, schools and libraries that would like to have animal-assisted therapy/activity programs.
Volunteers consist of trained human and animal teams. Therapy animals have been trained and evaluated for health, safety, skills and temperament. The organization encourages cats, bunnies, Guinea pigs, horses, and dogs (and many others species) along with their humans to be part of the volunteer network of teams.
Volunteers with Silent Sidekick teams (each consisting of one human and one animal) visit people in health care facilities, civilian and military hospitals, veteran facilities, nursing homes, and provide in-home visits for homebound individuals. Volunteers participate in casual “meet and greet” activities with the residents.
Silent Sidekick teams also visit schools and libraries to provide a “Reading to the Animals” Program. Children have the opportunity to improve their reading and communication skills in a relaxing and non-judgmental environment.
Educational presentations help to increase public awareness of the benefits of the human-animal bond.
Gardiner Healthcare Facility was the first visit program. Amy Hocking reports that the residents (and staff) absolutely love it when they are visiting. On one occasion they were having difficulty getting a lady to respond to anyone, but when Morgan (the beautiful golden retriever) came in she put her hand out immediately! It has been proven that just by touching a dog your blood pressure can drop immediately.
For more information please contact silentsidekicks.org.
