Animal Assisted Therapy: Can it help you?
The term “animal assisted therapy” is to be distinguished from the more
familiar practice of “animal assisted activities”,
which refers generally to
pet visitation at hospitals and residential care facilities.
Animal Assisted Therapy is part of a formal and carefully designed treatment
program with specific and measurable objectives that matches one animal to one
patient.
Under the guidance of a trained medical professional, patients with
severe mental and/or physical disabilities are
encouraged to interact with a
“therapy dog” under the supervision of a trained dog handler.
The patient’s
interaction with the dog is increased gradually.
Initially, the patient may
merely observe the dog or touch it.
As the patient becomes more responsive and
confident,
activities may include brushing, attaching collars and even walking
the dog.
Progress records are maintained as milestones are met and exceeded.
Studies have shown that therapy pets motivate people to participate in
therapeutic interactions.
Dogs are not judgmental, they don’t hassle or
pressure their partner and they have endless patience.
Further, simply because
they are animals and require care,
the patient grooming them or walking them is
made to feel useful.
The benefits and expectations of animal assisted activities, or pet visits,
vary according to the needs and conditions of the patients being visited.
Pet
visits are less formal;
they do not follow a particular treatment plan or
schedule and
they are not usually set up on a one pet to one patient scenario.
Pet visits are common to hospitals, assisted living homes and nursing homes.
They are often nothing more than a way to entertain people or to change their
routine and brighten their day.
On the other hand, when visited by a pet, some
people who have basically
shut themselves off from human interaction will begin
to work their way back to reality.
Apparently, the pet stirs emotions in them
that have been lying dormant.
Examples have been given where patients who have
not spoken a word in over a year will begin to talk to the visiting dog.
Now that pet therapy has become a proven and documented reality, institutions
are beginning to capitalize on this phenomenon with the “resident pet.”
This
term refers to a cat or a dog that becomes a permanent resident of a particular
facility and is usually given free run of the place.
Each resident benefits
from a proprietary interest in the animal and looks forward to assisting in its
care.
In some cases, a full course of therapy has been designed around the
care and feeding of a resident pet.
The residents meet to discuss what must be
done and develop their own charts and schedules to accommodate the pet’s needs.
However, staff must be constantly on the alert to avoid problems of jealousy
and feuds over the pet’s affections.
The attributes and characteristics that comprise a good visiting dog or therapy
dog have more to do with temperament than training.
Not to say that the dog
will not need training in basic obedience,
but that is normally sufficient
except in extraordinary situations.
Patients and residents react to the dogs
in a variety of ways.
Some are effusive, some impulsive and others are shy.
Therefore, the dogs must be ready for anything.
It surely wouldn’t do for a
dog to lunge away or growl if a patient makes a loud noise or reaches for them
abruptly.
When selecting a dog for these purposes, you would not necessarily
want an animal
that is high strung or one that is too laid back to get up and
socialize.
Numerous studies have documented the benefits of pet therapy.
Pets have been
used in treating AIDS patients, cancer patients, the elderly and the mentally
ill.
One study determined that petting a dog can lower blood pressure and
another found that pets can reduce stress related illnesses.
A study at City
Hospital in New York noted that heart patients who owned pets lived longer than
those without pets.
Owning a pet was found to be more significant to long term
survival than the presence of even a spouse or friends.
Pets make us feel good.
They comfort us, allow us to be ourselves and give
those of us that need it, a reason for living.
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