When caring for aging parents, adult children often look for help to ease the transition to new living situations. Sometimes, a furry friend can bring the comfort their loved one needs.
When sisters Bettina Dickson Rusher and Frances Dickson, who grew up in Lexington, had to move their aging mother, Betty, to Wilmore’s Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in 2010, they knew she would have a tough time without her beloved calico cat, Caldonia. On a whim, Frances found a stuffed cat that resembled the real one. When they gave it to Betty, she understood it was not a real cat, but she became attached to it and carried it with her at all times. They saw the security that the faux Caldonia brought their mother.
Betty was one of two women and 40 men who lived at the veterans center, and as residents’ family members started noticing Caldonia, the sisters purchased more stuffed dogs and cats and gave them as gifts to other residents. Each time, they saw the patient contentedly stroking the pet, talking to it, and generally assuming a calm disposition.
As Bettina and Frances saw the comfort the pets gave the patients, they began to do research and found that studies confirmed what they were seeing. They decided to create an online business selling realistic-looking pets so they could help others.
They call the company Memorable Pets and feature familiar breeds of dogs and cats to which people with memory problems can relate.
“At the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry’s 2012 Conference, we found evidence that reaffirms what we do,” Bettina said. “They said as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, the need to nurture, love and be loved increases. It is one of the last emotions to go, and this is exactly what we saw with our mother and with others who received our pets.”
The joys of owning a pet are obvious on the surface, but science tells us that having a furry companion is good for you. From a physical standpoint, stroking a pet has been shown to lower blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health and even release endorphins, hormones that have a calming effect. Mentally, it lessens depression and decreases anxiety and feelings of isolation.
All of this supports Memorable Pets’ goal of comforting patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, who sometimes may not recognize the people around them or realize what their situation is.
As research continues to support the benefits of having a real or faux pet, Memorable Pets has grown to serve customers in 46 countries and is supported by family members, hospitals, adult daycare centers and hospice units. The most popular pet is the golden retriever, followed by the white Maltese and the longhair Yorkshire Terrier.
“All of our products have to be a certain size and stick close to the breed, so they are recognizable and not similar to a cartoon character,” Bettina said.
Although the patient usually responds well when introduced to a Memorable Pet, sometimes the patient’s family member or caregiver has misgivings about it. Bettina understands this, as it is uncomfortable to see a grown adult with what seems to be a toy.
“We feel it is important to validate their feelings,” she said. “But then we show them why it works and how happy it makes the patient. It is all about the comfort of their loved one.”
Over the years, the company has introduced new products, including realistic baby dolls—known as Believable Babies—and robotic pets that appear to breathe and move. Family members usually are aware of which product their loved one will respond to. Sometimes, a woman will really enjoy cuddling a baby, or a family member will recall their loved one talking about a brown dog from their childhood. Bettina said the breed sometimes does not matter, but other times, that is what makes the connection.
The Memorable Pets website is full of testimonials from family members and caregivers who have seen the benefits first hand.
Tracy Ragone has seen the transformation both personally and professionally. Her father, who had a gray-and-white cat named Jack, had to give up his furry friend when he moved to Thomson-Hood Veterans Center. Before starting Memorable Pets, Bettina and Frances had heard about him moving in and decided to give him a gray-and-white stuffed cat to fill in for Jack.
“My father had Alzheimer’s, and getting this gift really helped in the transition to a new home at a time when everything that was familiar to him was removed,” Ragone said. “It had been therapeutic for him to have a real cat, but the stuffed Jack worked too.”
Ragone is the director of social services at The Willows at Hamburg Long-Term Care in Lexington, and, after seeing such positive results for her father years ago, she has seen Memorable Pets benefit many others.
“We have real dogs visit, and it makes the residents happy, but they have to leave,” she said. “We purchased some of the stuffed dogs and cats to have available if we feel someone needs that security.”
She said some people take to a stuffed pet right away, thinking it is their dog or cat, and they love on it and pet it. She has also seen cases in which a patient is agitated and restless, but when given the stuffed pet, they become calmer.
Bettina, who worked in corporate positions throughout her career, and Frances, who lived in California, created the business together in 2010. Eventually, Bettina handled the day-to-day operations. She and her husband recently moved from Woodford County and continue to run Memorable Pets from their new home in Georgia. Their mother, Betty, was eligible to stay at the Thomson-Hood Veterans Center because she served in the United States Navy during World War II as one of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, also known as the WAVES. In 2009, she was awarded a medal for her service by then-Gov. Steve Beshear, and, of course, Caldonia was in her lap during the ceremony. In 2011, Betty was clutching her Caldonia lookalike as she passed away, and the sisters decided to bury the two together.
“My mom loved her real cat and the stuffed Caldonia, and we learned so much from the experience,” Bettina said. “I felt like I had been given a gift with this experience and had to do something with it.”
For more information, visit memorablepets.com or call (912) 268-2159.