pet therapy Essays

Ever wondered why there are 5.9 million dogs in Canada alone? Although the constant barks of the dog down the street may be irritating, dogs have contributed to our well being more than most people realize. Weather they are volunteering with their owner to be a therapy dog, improving the mental health of someone with PTSD, or even pulling people out of danger, these trusted canines certainly have a credible history. To begin, the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program is accessible to people all over Nova Scotia.

Pet therapy is a way of comforting a patient. Although dogs are primarily used, they are not the only

Animals are pets and friends; we help them, and they help us. In “Pet Therapy” by Julie Rovner, a pony named Happy helped a boy with autism by horseback riding with him every day. His speech improved, and he was able to say full sentences. In "My Life With the Chimpanzees” by Jane Goodall, the chimpanzees helped Goodall learn more about them, and by helping Goodall, the chimpanzees gave them food that they liked. And in Hachiko: “The True Story of a Loyal Dog”, by Pamela S. Turner, Kentaro, a young boy, helped Hachiko by giving him treats and food every day.

In a recent study conducted by Rebecca Johnson, Ph.D., RN, of the University of Missouri-Columbia Center for the Study of Animal Wellness showed that when humans pet a dog, within minutes there is a huge amount of beneficial hormones known to be associated with health and feelings of well-being.(Becker par. 2) These hormones are called beta endorphin, prolactin, dopamine, oxytocin, and beta phenylethylamine (Becker par. 2). The hormones that are released from the interaction between the animal and the human allow the patients to feel more blissful and trusting. Along with being emotionally benefited from working with animals in assisted therapy; people can benefit physically. For example, people who have physical

Some people have been known to have a fake “service dog” or “therapy dog” due to the idea that some people believe “oh my dog would be a perfect therapy dog he loves people” but they never do the training or the testing required to do this work. Many times the people want to do the work and not the dogs. This idea of “oh my dog would be perfect” can lead to a lot of problem from severity of bites to the lowness of stress and anxiety. A true therapy dog has to be a special balance of stability, lovability, tolerance, able to handle stress, and prepared to cope with the feeling that dogs and people can feel in these facilities ("Ethical Considerations in Animal”). While this problem is not an uncommon one it can be a very serious one, and can be remediated by proper education of the facilities and have stronger

For centuries people have known that animal companionship has brought many benefits to people’s lives. According to Kathryn Heimlich, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the first known time a companion animal was used to aid in a therapy program was “York Retreat in England, an establishment founded by the Quakers for persons with mental illness” (Heimlich, 2001, p. 48). As stated by Heimlich, the first published reports of the benefits of animal-assisted therapy come from Psychologist Boris Levinson. Levinson “discovered that he could reach a disturbed child during therapy

Questions arise concerning the treatment of therapy dogs when visiting patients and whether animal-assisted therapy really works at all; however, those who disagree aren’t looking at the big picture. Animal-assisted therapy is both an ethical and effective therapy method due to its success in treating those with chronic diseases, disorders, and managing stress and anxiety. The varieties of cases regarding the success of therapy dog treatments far surmount the amount of cases saying otherwise. Animal-assisted therapy stems from the human-animal connection, one of the most unique and powerful bonds man has ever experienced. It is that connection that allows animal assisted therapy to be a critical part of everyone’s daily

Animal assisted therapy, or AAT for short, began with the first documented case at an asylum run by the Society of Friends in England 1792. The first documented case of animal assisted therapy in the United States was not until 1919 at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington D.C. During the 1930s, famous psychoanalysist Sigmund Freud become an advocate for AAT when he used his dog, Jofi, during his therapy sessions. He found that his patients were more comfortable talking to him when Jofi was present. I believe that AAT proves to be beneficial for both mental and physical disorders according to articles I have read prior to the research done for this project.

They can also help improve your mental health (Pugh). “A research project with older adults with dementia and found that it helped some with their memory” says Dr. Stuart Pope (qtd. In Falligant). Some kids use therapy animals to help them with disabilities, such as walking (“Pet Therapy Could”). It also can help some people use less medication. For example, people who have depression can use less antidepressants with the help of a therapy animal because the animal can help them become less depressed (“Benefits of Pet”). They can help improve different motor skills. Just like walking with a dog, it helps to improve the ability to walk while having the support of a dog. Once a criminally insane hospital used therapy animals to help the patients in the hospital. THen animals helped to improve the happiness of a lot of the patients (Pugh). Most kids do not have a good attention span or the ability to communicate their emotions. However, with the help of therapy animals it can improve their attention span and the communication of their emotions. That can also help the parent’s ability to get the child what they need at any given point in time (“Pet Therapy Could”). For athletes when they get injured, it is very upsetting for them because of the time it takes to recover, but with the use of animal assisted therapy it can help to improve the recovery time of different injuries (“Benefits of

One specific type of emotional disorder, Conduct Disorder, which is defined by the DSM-IV (as cited by Gullone, 2003) as a constant and repetitive pattern of behaviors that violate the basic rights of others and other age-appropriate societal norms, is particularly targeted by animal-assisted therapy. It is thought that by teaching children with risk of conduct disorder (CD) to have empathy and concern for others, their developmental trajectories may be modified (Gullone, 2003). An animal-assisted therapy can be directed at re-focusing the child’s aggressive and dominating actions towards caring and gentle actions in a relationship free of rejection and full of unconditional positive regard. The child can form a secure attachment with another living being which will contribute to their basic sense of trust (Gullone, 2003). These lessons can then be transferred to human relationships.

What Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) Is Owning a pet and being around animals of varying species can be comforting, calming, and maybe even therapeutic to many people. According to the Humane Society of the United States, pet ownership has more than tripled in the U.S. since the 1970s. For years, organizations, animal-behavioral groups, and individuals have claimed that the use of AAT provides multiple physical, emotional, and mental benefits to its participants. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is not commonly used or practiced in many rehabilitation facilities, but current research by multiple organizations and individual researchers discuss the benefits of this therapy. “Statistically, significant reductions in anxiety scores were found after

Most of the therapy dogs come from a selective breeding program known as the American Kennel Club (AKC). These dogs go through several months of obedience training and must be able to strictly follow commands. These dogs must also feel comfortable in the presence of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, oxygen tanks, food carts, and any other equipment patients and therapists use. A number of studies have demonstrated that the presence of therapy dogs serve to increase the quantity and quality of positive attention directed toward the physically handicapped by both familiar individuals and

pets can make you happy when you are sad or be with you in the worst times.

In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.

Kids learn how to be more understanding, patient and responsible in their actions when they grow up with a pet.