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Pet therapy programs at nursing homes and other care centers bring comfort and joy to patients separated from families.

The Associated Press Sal Markowitz, 96, right, and Sandra Greer, 82, left, visits with Marley, a Great Dane, while therapeutic activities director Catherine Farrell looks on at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. New dog recruits are helping to expand the nursing home's pet therapy program, giving residents and staff physical comfort while human visitors are still restricted because of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Eileen Nagle sees her family in video chats and drive-by visits, but that hasn’t made up for the lack of warm hugs in the nine months since t...

Mary Esch Jeff Philipson, 80, left, exclaims as therapeutic activities staff member Kate DelPizzo arrives for a visit with Zeus, a bichon frise, at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. New dog recruits are helping to expand the nursing home's pet therapy program, giving residents and staff physical comfort while human visitors are still restricted because of the pandemic. Image Credit: (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) December 22, 2020 - 6:30 AM Eileen Nagle sees her family in video chats and drive-by visits, but that hasn't made up for the lack...

Dogs come to the rescue, easing nursing home loneliness caused by COVID-19 Updated Dec 22, 2020; Posted Dec 22, 2020 Jeff Philipson, 80, left, exclaims as therapeutic activities staff member Kate DelPizzo arrives for a visit with Zeus, a bichon frise, at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, Bronx, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2020. The program gives residents and staff physical comfort while human visitors are still restricted because of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Facebook Share Eileen Nagle’s situation, unfortunately, isn’t unusual. She resides at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale in the Bronx, and her...

Associated Press Eileen Nagle sees her family in video chats and drive-by visits, but that hasn’t made up for the lack of warm hugs in the nine months since the pandemic led her nursing home to shut its doors to visitors. Enter Zeus. “Zeus is a friendly little snowball, very happy,” said Nagle, 79, after the peppy bichon frise paid a visit to her room at Hebrew Home at Riverdale, overlooking the Hudson River in the Bronx. “Petting and playing with the dogs breaks up the day and gets you to forget about yourself for a while.” Hebrew Home has had a pet therapy program for 20 years; t...