TROY, Ohio (AP) 鈥 Each morning when she wakes up, Juanita Mengel removes the silicone liner of her prosthetic leg out from under a heated blanket so that the metal parts of the artificial limb don't feel as cold on her skin when she straps the pieces together.
The 67-year-old Amanda, Ohio, resident then does the same for her 5-year-old dilute 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 providing animal-assisted interventions, where they might visit hospitals, nursing homes or schools to aid in therapy and other activities to improve well-being in communities.
鈥淎 therapy animal is an animal who鈥檚 been assessed based on their ability to meet new people and not just tolerate the interaction, but actively enjoy it,鈥 said Taylor Chastain Griffin, the national director of animal-assisted interventions advancement at the organization.
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 studies the impact of therapy cats and argues more research needs to be done. There鈥檚 abundant research on other therapy animals like dogs, she said, but there鈥檚 often a 鈥渟hock factor鈥 involved with therapy cats because many don鈥檛 know they exist.
鈥淭hey go into a setting and people are like, 鈥榃hoa, there鈥檚 a cat on a leash. What鈥檚 happening?鈥欌 Chastain Griffin said. 鈥淚t kind of inspires people to connect in a way we haven鈥檛 traditionally heard talked about in other therapy animal interventions.鈥
Mengel said she knew Lola-Pearl would be a good therapy cat after she brought her on a whim to an amputee coalition conference about a month after she adopted the domestic shorthair.
鈥淪he was so good with people I just knew she would be a good therapy cat," Mengel said. 鈥淧eople really were attracted to her, too.鈥
During a recent visit to a limb loss support group meeting, Mengel pushed Lola-Pearl around in a stroller 鈥 labeled 鈥淭herapy Cat鈥 鈥 so attendees could pet the kitty as she woke up from a nap.
Whether she was sitting in the stroller, walking in between participants' legs or cuddling on their laps, Lola-Pearl brought a smile to whoever she decided was worthy of her attention in that moment.
鈥淪he's very intuitive of people,鈥 Mengel said.
Lola-Pearl isn't 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 a mother to seven felines, most of which have disabilities.
鈥淭hey find you, you don't find them,鈥 she said.
Lola-Pearl was found at only a few weeks old with her back legs completely twisted together. She was unable to walk and brought to a friend of Mengel's at an animal shelter in Missouri, where veterinarians could not help her. The shelter found specialists in Iowa who were able to splint Lola-Pearl's legs as an attempt to save them, but they decided her left hind leg needed to be amputated.
Meanwhile, Mengel had been in talks with her friend in Missouri about adopting the cat, and after Lola-Pearl healed from surgery, Mengel officially adopted her.
Despite the obstacles Mengel has been through, she exudes a spirit of gratitude for Lola-Pearl and for the work they do together.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really rewarding experience,鈥 she said, "I get just as much out of it as the people that I visit.鈥
