RETIRED health worker and Acorns Hospice volunteer Maureen Wilson has owned dogs for years.

And, when she was looking for a new way to give her time and energy to the children’s hospice in Worcester, her latest canine friend Megan gave her the perfect opportunity.

Maureen, who lives in Crowle, decided to see if her lovely Welsh Springer Spaniel would be a suitable candidate for the Pets As Therapy (PAT) scheme, which enables volunteers to take their pets into hospital, hospices, nursing and care homes to provide therapeutic visits for patients and residents.

The good natured Megan passed the PAT assessment and has been a regular visitor to Acorns for about 18 months and to the city’s St Richard’s Hospice for a year.

Maureen - a former physiotherapy assistant at Highfield Hospital in Droitwich, which specialised in the treatment of rheumatic and arthritic diseases, and at Worcestershire Royal hospital – retired from the NHS in 2005.

She was experienced in helping patients using the hydrotherapy pools and wanted to offer her skills and knowledge in a voluntary capacity.

“When I retired from the NHS I was working at the hydrotherapy pool in the hospital. I wanted to work as a volunteer at Acorns so I helped in the hydrotherapy pool there until two years ago,” said Maureen.

One of the requirements of working with people using a hydrotherapy pool is having a lifesaving certificate. “Every two years you have to renew your lifesaving certificate. I was coming up to 70 and I had damaged my shoulder so I thought I would give up the hydrotherapy work and do something else.”

Maureen, a true dog lover who has owned a number of spaniels over the years, was aware of many of the animal-related charities including PAT.

“I thought it would be a wonderful thing to do so I applied. You have an assessment and you have to own the kind of dog that will lie quietly by your side.

“It also has to be a pet that can be stroked and petted and will not react to unexpected loud noises, such as someone dropping a crutch. They have to take everything in their stride,” explained Maureen.

The pets also have to be able to take any food treats offered by patients gently, walk to heel and not jump up, she added.

“It needs to be a placid, good tempered animal that loves meeting people.”

Megan, who attended basic obedience classes as a puppy, turned out to be the ideal candidate. She is absolutely loved by everyone she meets at St Richard’s and Acorns – including the maintenance man.

“The maintenance man at Acorns says he has had his bit of therapy after he sees Megan. The staff and volunteers enjoy it as much as inpatients. Visitors also like her. They all make a fuss of her,” said Maureen.

Not only do the inpatients at St Richard’s relish her visits but it gives them something to tell their visitors when Megan has been in.

Maureen added that it is believed stroking a pet can help to lower blood pressure and bring some people out of their depression.

In some cases young patients can take PAT dogs for walks and they are also thought to help people living with dementia, who are stimulated to talk about the dogs they have owned in the past.

There is also a pilot scheme being run where children who have difficulty reading can read to a dog, rather than a teacher, to give them confidence.

“They can help to break down barriers when humans fail,” said Maureen.

It isn’t just the patients, staff and volunteers at these hospices who benefit from Megan’s presence.

Maureen said: “I love seeing the pleasure of people loving my dog and seeing their faces light up and hearing their stories about dogs. I just think it is nice someone can benefit from my dog when they are away from their own dog or they cannot have one. I get great pleasure out of it. We meet some lovely people.

She said one minute she could be playing with some children and a few minutes later she was lying on the bed of a dying girl. “It was not just for the girl, it was for the relatives. It is very rewarding,” said Maureen.

St Richard’s Hospice care director June Patel said: “Our patients and families really appreciate Maureen and Megan coming to the hospice every Thursday – for our day hospice patients it’s often the highlight of their day.

“Maureen also takes Megan to meet patients in our inpatient unit and our staff and volunteers love making a fuss of her. Megan is such a gentle, calm dog that our patients instantly bond with her.

“She gives such unconditional love and for some people it’s a rare chance to express emotion, give her a hug and talk to her. Megan also brings with her happy associations of home for some patients.

“We welcome dogs to St Richard’s and will often see pets being brought in to visit their owners or sit by their beds for the day if that’s what the patient wants.

“They bring a real feeling of home to the surroundings and we are lucky to have beautiful grounds where owners and their dogs can stretch their legs.”

• Pets As Therapy is a national charity founded in 1983.

• It is unique as it provides therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes, special needs schools and a variety of other venues by volunteers with their own friendly, temperament tested and vaccinated dogs and cats.

• Since it began over 28,000 PAT dogs have been registered into the Pets As Therapy scheme.

• Today there are currently around 4,500 active PAT visiting dogs and 108 PAT cats at work in the UK.

• Every week these calm friendly dogs and cats give more than 130,000 people, both young and old, the pleasure and chance to cuddle and talk to them.

• Maureen Wilson says there is a great demand for PAT and there are not currently enough dogs to meet the demand

• Anyone interested in more information about PAT can visit www.petsastherapy.org

• To volunteer visit http://www.petsastherapy.org/index.php/join-us/registered-volunteer