Are dogs allowed at your facility?

[B3liever]

I've got a resident's family asking if they can bring their small dog in during visits, just a mellow little thing, totally well behaved, obviously I'd have to ask the head though but I also wanted to check in with other facilities, are dogs allowed at your facility? and If they are, any specific rules around it?
We've had therapy animals come in before, but personal pets are a bit more of a grey area and honestly I know it can be a huge boost for morale, especially for residents who used to have pets of their own.

 

[Mr. Compos Mentis]

Oh yeah, we let well-behaved family dogs visit. It is a real spirit lifter for many residents, but we have a strict checklist. We learned the hard way after a little terrier caused a ruckus, so now it is all about proof of shots and good temperament on paper first.

 

[GracefulGuardian]

At my last place, we let people have family pets after trying it out with one resident's cat. It went well. We just needed vet papers, a leash all the time, and no pets during meals. It really helped some people feel better.

 

[Marthcatlady]

I heard about a facility a while back that were pretty flexible with pets and there was no problem. It's was all fine until they had a family member come with a dog which was pretty normal. The problem was that the dog managed to get off the leash and wander into a room of a patient that had severe allergy. The whole place was on high alert until they managed to get the patient back to normal and since then, their policies are very very very strict.

 

[d1pn_chps]

I've got a resident's family asking if they can bring their small dog in during visits, just a mellow little thing, totally well behaved, obviously I'd have to ask the head though but I also wanted to check in with other facilities, are dogs allowed at your facility? and If they are, any specific rules around it?
We've had therapy animals come in before, but personal pets are a bit more of a grey area and honestly I know it can be a huge boost for morale, especially for residents who used to have pets of their own.

yeah, in mine and a lot of facilities do allow this, but they have very strict rules in place for safety and hygiene.
The most common ones I've seen are that the dog must be on a leash or in a carrier at all times, the family has to show proof of a current rabies vaccine, and the visit has to be in the resident's private room.
It's all about minimizing risk for other residents and staff who may have allergies or a fear of dogs