Cat-owner duo in Ohio shares amputee journey while helping others through animal therapy
TROY, Ohio– Every morning when she wakes up, Juanita Mengel removes the silicone lining of her prosthetic leg from under a heated blanket so that the metal parts of the artificial leg don't feel so cold on her skin when she fastens the pieces together.
The 67-year-old resident of Amanda, Ohio, then does the same for her 5-year-old diluted tortoiseshell cat, Lola-Pearl, who is missing her left hind leg.
The duo is one of an estimated 200 therapy cat teams registered in the U.S. through Pet Partners. The nonprofit sets up owners and their pets as volunteer teams to deliver animal-assisted interventions, where they can visit hospitals, nursing homes or schools to assist with therapy and other activities to improve well-being in communities.
“A therapy animal is an animal judged by its ability to meet new people and not only tolerate but actively enjoy the interaction,” said Taylor Chastain Griffin, national director of Animal-Assisted Interventions Development at the organisation.
Pet Partners registers nine different species as therapy animals: dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, birds, mini pigs and llamas and alpacas.
As part of her research, Chastain Griffin is studying the impact of therapy cats and says more research needs to be done. There has been plenty of research on other therapy animals such as dogs, she said, but there is often a “shock factor” with therapy cats because many don't know they exist.
“They go into an environment and people say, 'Wow, there's a cat on a leash.' What's happening?'” said Chastain Griffin. “It kind of inspires people to connect in a way that we haven't traditionally heard about in other animal therapy interventions.”
Mengel said she knew Lola-Pearl would make a good therapy cat after taking her to an amputee coalition conference on a whim about a month after she adopted the domestic shorthair.
“She was so good with people, I just knew she would make a good therapy cat,” Mengel said. “People were really attracted to her.”
During a recent visit to a limb loss support group meeting, Mengel pushed Lola-Pearl around in a stroller — labeled “Therapy Cat” — so attendees could pet the cat as she woke up from a nap.
Whether she was sitting in the stroller, walking between the participants' legs or cuddling on their laps, Lola-Pearl brought a smile to whoever she felt was worthy of her attention at that moment.
“She is very intuitive with people,” Mengel said.
Lola-Pearl is not the only cat in Mengel's life; the former traveling nurse who lost her left leg in 2006 after years of surgeries following a near-fatal car accident, is the mother of seven felines, most of whom have disabilities.
“They find you, you don't find them,” she said.
Lola-Pearl was found when she was just a few weeks old, with her back legs completely twisted. Unable to walk, she was taken to a friend of Mengel's at an animal shelter in Missouri, where veterinarians were unable to help her. The shelter found specialists in Iowa who were able to splint Lola-Pearl's legs in an attempt to save them, but they decided her left hind leg would need to be amputated.
Meanwhile, Mengel had been talking to her friend in Missouri about adopting the cat, and after Lola-Pearl recovered from surgery, Mengel officially adopted her.
Despite the obstacles Mengel has faced, she exudes a spirit of gratitude for Lola-Pearl and the work they do together.
“It's a really rewarding experience,” she said, “I get as much out of it as the people I visit.”