Animals have several mental benefits for their patients and owners. Animals are helpful when it comes to decreasing stress and anxiety, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Therapeutic animals also decrease depression, loneliness, and aggressive behaviors. Therapeutic animals increases others feelings of acceptance, in-turn the ability to accept social and emotional support. They also increase socialization, mental stimulation, attention skills, and verbal interactions, self-esteem, in turn being more willing to be involved in-group activities.
Animals have several physical benefits for their patients and owners as well. Animals decrease blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormone cortisol. Animals increase hormones associated with health and a feeling of well being, like beta-endorphin, beta-phenyl ethylamine, dopamine, oxytocin, prolactin, and serotonin. Animals also increase levels of fitness by providing stimulus for exercise and improvement in fine motor skills, standing balance and wheelchair and other physical skills.
Therapeutic dogs are used in many places like hospitals, retirement homes, assisted living, hospice homes, nursing homes, schools, mental and physical therapy, reading programs, and disaster areas.
The first therapeutic animal was a 4-pound Yorkshire Terrier named Smoky. An America soldier found Smoky abandoned in a foxhole in a jungle in New Guinea. He sold it to Bill Wynne for $6. 44 to rejoin into a poker game. The dog was adopted by Bill Wynne who was serving with the 5th Air Force, 26th Photo Recon Squadron in New Guinea in 1944. Smokey was a typhoon and a 150 air raid survivor.
In hospitals the therapeutic dogs are a good way for patients and visitors to be distracted from any pain, suffering, or grief they may be experiencing at the time. The dogs will comfort the patients along with the family and friends anxiously staying in the waiting room. The patients are sure to follow strict sanitary guidelines, like using hand sanitizer, prior to handling the animals.
Mental and physical therapy is sometimes guided with animal-assisted activities (AAA) and is used to get involvement between their animal and the client. This is typically used in hospitals and retirement homes. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is directed by a health professional that used the animal in providing their service to the client. AAT helps patients improve verbal and physical interactions with others, motor skills, mobility and balance, exercise, mental skills, anxiety, depression and trust.
Schools, Universities and Colleges just recently started having therapeutic dogs. They are primarily used to reduce stress and depression in students while studying, particularly for exams. Studies show that student interaction with therapy animals is a much healthier way to cope with stress instead of some other common means, such as binge drinking.
Reading to Dogs Programs is a way for children to read to others to help improve their reading, vocabulary and comprehensive skills, confidence and self-esteem. This technique allows them to learn and progress more. Dogs will not criticize the child’s reading ability and therefore is less intimidating. This removes some of the negative connotation with reading in front of others.
Emergency response agencies have therapeutic animals for disaster areas. Often disaster victims shut down emotionally and stop thinking clearly. Interactions with dogs and other therapy animals can calm the victims. The emergency teams are trained for unpredictable and stressful environments.
There are many ways that someone can get involved and make a difference. One can register athttp://www.petpartners.org/TAPinfo and join an organization. There are 3 organizations in Florida: Cherry Point Pet Partners, Suncoast Humane Society, and Tallahassee Memorial Animal Therapy.
