Paws That Heal

AT WASHINGTON Elementary School in Norman, Oklahoma, Jenny is known and loved by all the students. When Jenny, a golden retriever enters the building, everyone - students and staff - stop to greet the dog lavishing her with attention and affection. Jenny and her owner are volunteers who visit the school every Tuesday where Jenny works with four students for twenty-five minutes at a time to help them improve their reading. The students, who are behind their peers in reading ability, don't usually enjoy reading, but reading to Jenny is a fun activity for them. Their reading program works very well because many of the students are self-conscious about reading out loud, but Jenny not only relaxes them, but is completely non-judgmental. The children benefit by having a flesh and blood audience that doesn't correct their punctuation. Little by little, their confidence grows and their reading skills improve as they read aloud to man's best friend.

Scientific research

It's been well known that the companionship of a cat or dog can relieve loneliness, depression, stress, as well as speed recovery from illness. The use of animals in therapy can be documented as early as 1792, when officials at a Quaker facility for the mentally ill began using animals. A year earlier, a Quaker woman died who had been in an insane asylum near York, England. Her friends in the Quaker community questioned the treatment she and others in the insane asylum received. Thus, they established the York Retreat for the mentally ill, believing a better form of treatment could be delivered. Along with medical care, they incorporated gardening, exercise, and the presence of animals such as birds and rabbits in the treatment plans.
Similarly, Florence Nightingale recognized the therapeutic value of pets. She had a pet owl named Athena, whom she loved in life and mourned in death. In her Notes on Nursing, Nightingale wrote, 'A pet bird in a cage is sometimes the only pleasure of an invalid confined for years to the same room.'
Today, there is scientific research which validates the use of pet therapy. Some studies have revealed the following:
* The company of a pet can lower blood pressure and decrease cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
* Dog owners were more likely to be alive one year after a heart attack than people who did not own a dog.
* Pets can motivate their humans to exercise and spend more time outdoors. Walking a dog at a brisk pace for 30 minutes can significantly lower risk of several diseases. 
* Regularly stroking an animal lowers blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
As a result, animals are increasingly being used therapeutically, bringing comfort and help to people who are hurting, suffering or limited in some way. Here are some examples.

Children with disabilities  

Young people who are challenged with multiple disabilities such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, and Down Syndrome benefit from animal assisted therapy, notes a study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Most of the 14 children, aged 7 to 19, in the eight-week study showed improvement in attention span, physical movement, communication and compliance, says Kathy Heimlich, the lead researcher. 'The novelty of an animal's presence during therapy sessions may be considered a crucial component of a successful outcome,' she wrote in the study.  
It's not only children with disabilities who benefit from an animal. The presence of a therapy dog lowers behaviour distress in children during a physical examination at a doctor's office. Similarly, a dog present during dental procedures reduces the stress of children who are upset about coming to the dentist.

Nursing home residents

Some time ago Kathy Alexander, owner and president of a Sarasota Florida real estate company, began bringing her fluffy little white Bichon Frise dogs to her father-in-law's nursing home to cheer him up. Almost immediately she observed a fascinating occurrence: her private visits to her dad began turning into open-house socials, with residents drawn to the room where the animals played. A transformation took place among residents who stroked and smiled in a place which was largely a silent and sterile environment.
Alexander was so moved by the impact her dogs had, that a year later she gave up her lucrative real estate business to found the Sarasota non-profit organization Pet Therapy Inc. Her goal is to promote the taking of dogs to nursing homes all over the country to 'honour our elders through consistent, unconditional love.' A nursing home resident made this observation, 'Pets don't care if you're in a wheelchair, have had an amputation, can't get out of your bed, can't speak clearly, or forget what you were saying. With an animal there's no need to feel self-conscious or embarrassed. The animal simply continues to be present offering love and enjoying the affection it receives.'
Alexander's positive personal experience with pets and nursing home residents is well documented in the scientific community. One example: seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less than those who do not. In a study of 100 senior patients, even the most highly stressed dog owners in the study had 21 percent fewer physician's contacts that non-dog owners.

The homeless

Researchers in San Francisco interviewed 105 homeless adult men and women, half of whom owned pets. Responses indicated that homeless pet owners were 'extremely' attached to their pets. Aline Kidd, one of the researchers noted that aside from those in the K-9 Corps, where dogs often saved their handler's lives more than once, the homeless were the most attached pet owners she had ever encountered. During the interview questions, Kidd heard the same things over and over, 'He's the only thing that loves me.' 'I always feed her first.' One homeless woman made this simple observation, 'She doesn't mind that I'm dirty or smell - she loves me anyway.'

Dog makes hospital rounds

A hospital in Seattle, Washington, has successfully been using pet therapy with patients. A gentle 7-year-old Doberman named Fraser makes rounds with her trainer Diane Rich. Fraser wears a black vest embroidered with the words: Ask to pet me. I'm friendly. As Fraser approaches a patient, he lowers his head so he can be petted. Barely moving a muscle, he takes the adoration in stride. There is scientific validity for using pet therapy at hospitals. In a study done at Ohio State University it was found that patients who were not responding well to traditional approaches improved when visited by an animal. The specific improvement was 'in terms of responsiveness, communication, apparent increased self-respect and independence.' With children who are hospitalized, studies demonstrate that pets facilitate the therapeutic process between the child patient and the nurse, as well as furnishing the child with an incentive to recover.

Physical therapy patients

At St. Joseph's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Shelley Weihert and her black Labrador, Nugget, work with physical therapy patients. Each Thursday morning Weihert and Nugget spend time with two or three patients who suffer from strokes, physical weakness and who have to improve balance or vocal communication skills. Instead of doing repetitive exercises which tend to be boring, patients have more fun gaining the same results by playing or interacting with the dog. For example, stroke patients working on strengthening their vocalization skills practice calling the dog's name. Patients working on balance or strength often don't realize they've been standing as long as five minutes while tossing a ball to Nugget. 'It's really amazing how it helps,' says Weihert. Under the guidance of a physical or recreational therapist, 'we have specific goals for each patient and they usually exceed that. Working with the dog increases their exercise level and improves their whole view. It helps the patients so much. It helps them a little bit to forget the problems they're having,' she adds.

PET PRAYER

Animals have provided pleasure and comfort for humans in every culture and in every age. They are gracious gifts from the Creator.  That recognition is reflected in this ancient prayer from Basil The Great (330-379):

  O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship
    with all living things, our brothers the animals to whom
    you gave the earth as their home in common with us.
  We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised
    the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty so that
    the voice of the earth, which should have gone up to you
    in song, has been a groan of travail.
  May we realize that they live not for us alone but for themselves
    and for you, and they love the sweetness of life.

WHOLESOME PETS

* Displaying tanks of brightly coloured fish can curtail disruptive behaviour and improve eating habits of individuals with Alzheimer's disease.
* Visits with a therapy dog helps heart and lung function by lowering pressures, diminishing release of harmful hormones and decreases anxiety with hospitalized heart failure patients.
* People with borderline hypertension had lower blood pressure on days they took their dogs to work.
* Pet owners generally have lower blood pressure and have fewer minor health problems.
* Companionship of pets, especially dogs, helps children in families adjust better to the serious illness and death of a parent.
* Pet owners feel less afraid of being a victim of a crime when walking with a dog or sharing a residence with a dog.
* Positive self-esteem of children is enhanced by owning a pet.
* Children owning pets are more involved in activities such as sports, hobbies, clubs or chores.
* Children exposed to pets during the first year of life have a lower frequency of allergic rhinitis and asthma.
* People who had AIDS that have pets experience less depression and reduced stress because pets provide a major source of support increasing perception in their ability to cope.