By Rose Itzcovitz

Montefiore Medical Center is on the hunt for dogs. The pups’ requirement–must love humans. 

The hospital is slated to train local qualified canines to show their unconditional affection to patients through a new pet therapy program that initiators say will benefit patients, hospital employees, and the dogs themselves.

Montefiore has now scheduled screenings of the dogs for Feb. 10 and 17. As of press time, over a dozen dogs have been registered for an assessment.

George Berger, the dog trainer who will turn applicants—dogs and owners—into certified therapy teams, said that roughly 35 percent of applicants typically make the cut. “The dogs must really like people,” Berger said in an email, adding that dogs must understand commands.

Selected dogs and owners will undergo a five-week training and final exam, with classes all funded by the hospital. While volunteering at the hospital, dogs must be bathed and their vaccinations must be up to date.

Leslie Bank, Montefiore’s director of customer service, first experienced the benefits of animal-assisted therapy when she launched a similar program at her former Connecticut job. Bank once witnessed a child too afraid to get out of bed after surgery. But Bank said once a therapy dog was introduced to her she forgot her fears and immediately followed the dog. “It suspended that whole sick thing, that whole scary thing,” she said.

At Montefiore, Bank teamed with Sherri Oustalet, director of volunteer and student services. Bank drafted a policy for what she and Oustalet are now calling Patient Enhancement Therapy (P.E.T.) Medics.

While pet therapy has been around for centuries in various forms, it’s been gaining a following in hospitals recently.

A study released last month by the Continuum Cancer Centers of New York found that the social and emotional well-being of cancer patients undergoing treatment significantly improved after experiencing pet therapy, despite the expected declines in physical and functional well-being.

Bank says that patients are selected for pet therapy by their medical care providers. If one roommate wants a dog visit, but the other does not or is allergic, the visit can happen in another room, as long as the patient is mobile enough to relocate.

Some Norwood residents say they’d have no problem giving up their free time for the cause. Chris Ramos, 45, says he’s seen the benefits of therapy dogs on patients and would gladly give time with his four-year- old mix, Traven. “I thought of doing it just because it’s good for them and it’s good for public service,” he said. Interested applicants can call (718) 920-4943.

Editor’s Note: The print version of this article stated Sherri Oustalet is a social worker for Montefiore’s palliative care unit. She is the director of volunteer and student services.