Therapy Animals

A therapy animal is used to provide mental and physical stimulation for those in healthcare facilities and other treatment centers. In a typical situation, a therapy animal will “visit” patients in these facilities to assist in their physical or mental treatment program. Therapy animals have also been known to visit assisted living homes to keep the spirits of the tenants up. In many assisted living facilities there may even be a resident therapy animal, most likely a cat.

A therapy animal can help a patient to feel less depressed, be more open to strangers and even be an ice breaker for conversation. When an animal visits a facility it can be the break in routine a patient needs to progress treatment. Patients often become more interactive during the therapy animal visit and the days following. While the therapy animal is visiting, patients will often talk to the animal, sharing memories of past pets which can be a welcomed distraction to day to day life. The therapy animal can also be a conversation starter between the handler and the patient. Many times the patient will ask questions about the animal.

Picture taken from: www.thankdogs.com/Animal_Assisted_Therapy.htm

In many cases, a patient has had to give up pet ownership and welcomes the therapy pet on a routine basis. This gives patients something to look forward to.

If you have a pet that you think is right for a therapy program or are just interested in the Pet therapy programs, please visit the following resource sites.

http://www.petsandpeople.org/cat-ther.htm

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/program.cfm?page=3