thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

Once a week here in Blount County, Bill Weaver and Audra Norwood light up the faces of school children without having to say a word.
Weaver, with Labrador Moriah in tow and Norwood, with her standard poodle Baron, are volunteers with HABIT, which stands for Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee. These two know there are more benefits derived from pet ownership than having a fetching partner. They remain active as senior adults and said the research linking pet ownership with better health is no surprise to them.
That research shows that caring for a pet can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure and keep you physically active regardless of age.
“I’m 78 years old,” Weaver said. “I have had dogs my whole life. I’ve never been without one.”
He takes Moriah to Fort Craig Elementary School each Wednesday for 30 minutes. The children in the class throw tennis balls for the Labrador to fetch. “They get a charge out of that,” Weaver said.

Sharing the love

On Fridays, Baron can sense when it’s time to load up for his weekly trip to Friendsville Elementary, Norwood said.
“He loves it there,” she said. “I think he really missed it over the summer. He loves to go in the car.”
To learn more about pet ownership as senior adults, Cariten Senior Health is sponsoring its first ever PETscription for Wellness, set for Saturday at the Knoxville Expo Center off Clinton Highway. Senior adults will learn about pet medical and chiropractic care, pet training and boarding, grooming and pet adoption options.
There will also be opportunities for the seniors to have health screenings for depression, vision, blood pressure and grip strength. Volunteer organizations like HABIT will attend to provide more information on how to get involved.

Getting results

Norwood has been volunteering with HABIT for about a year and said a friend introduced her to the program. A retired church administrator living in Friendsville, she said Baron has the perfect temperament to be a HABIT dog. He and the other dogs in the volunteer program have to pass a series of tests before they are allowed to participate.
“When he comes into the room the kids hug and love on him,” she said. “He has been a blessing to me and a blessing to the kids.”
Baron was actually adopted from Georgia, Norwood pointed out. He is 6 years old. Norwood traveled to Atlanta to pick him up.
“It was love at first sight,” she said.
Weaver got involved with HABIT because his wife was a volunteer for years. He runs Moriah in American Kennel Club hunt tests and competes all across the country. All of that training and competition helps Moriah’s owner stay healthy.
Norwood’s husband has had several heart attacks over the years, but not since they acquired Baron. There is no proof owning a pet has anything to do with his condition, but Norwood believes there has been a positive effect.

Banding together

Cariten Senior Health is partnering with Young-Williams Animal Center, the Knoxville-Knox County Office on Aging and the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine to bring PETscription to the area, free of charge. Hours will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Participants will include Agri Feed, concord School of Grooming, East Tennessee Pet Sitters, Peaceful Kingdom Personalized Pet Tags, Meadowbrook Kennels and Training, Yeargan’s Pet Burial, MK Mechanical Allergy Filtration, Command Performance Pet Training, Loving Hands Pet Grooming, Covenant Therapy Centers, Peninsula Health, Covenant Senior Services and pet chiropractic and holistic veterinary services.
Rescue groups that will be on site are Greyhound Pets of America, Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee, the Stray Connection and Young-Williams Animal Center.
While the focus of the event is on pets and their human health benefits, Cariten is asking that pet owners leave their pets at home for this event.
Several nonprofit participants including Young-Williams Animal Center, the Stray Connection and the Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee will be accepting pet friendly items for donation.
A complete wish list is available on www.cariten.com.
Reaping the benefits of pet ownership are reason enough to have one, Norwood said. But sharing Baron with others makes the experience even more rewarding. She had the opportunity of taking her dog to visit residents in a nursing home, including her own mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Those residents looked forward to the human-animal contact.
“So many people need that touch and love,” she said. “They will react to the animals even more so than to a person.”