Healing Hounds
Dogs are man's best
friend. Always loyal and
ever loving, this trait has
made canines an integral
and common part of what is
fast becoming a common mode
of therapy in many health
care facilities. Not just
dogs but animals in general
have long been recognized
as having a positive effect
on the healing process.
Dogs, especially, have a
calming effect.
These dogs help people
cope with emotional issues,
offer physical contact,
invoke pleasant memories
and they divert a person's
focus from the problems of
the day. That's why they've
been used to great success
as helpers for those people
who are in therapy. Dogs
are specially trained for
their jobs of helping to
take care of the sick, the
elderly or the infirm.
Currently there are three
types of therapy dogs:
a) Facility Therapy
Dogs
b) Animal-Assisted
Therapy Dogs
c) Therapeutic
Visitation Dogs
The first two types
assist physical therapists
by meeting the requirements
for a person's recovery.
They are usually found in
hospitals and are
permanently assigned there.
The most common type of
therapeutic dog, however,
is the third type.
Therapeutic visitation
dogs are ordinary pets
whose owners take to
hospitals, nursing homes
and rehabilitation
facilities. These dogs help
people who are away from
home due to mental or
physical illness. These
people are usually in a
highly stressful or
depressing environment and
a visit from a therapy dog
can always brighten their
day and help them deal with
their problems.
Through their bright
example, these dogs help
the people they meet
maintain a positive
attitude. This positive
outlook is important in
good health, happiness and
staying young. Pets also
provide a chance for
patients to touch and be
touched. This gives the
patients a chance to
express their need for
physical contact, a need
that doctors have proven as
a very important factor in
a patient's psychological
health.
This is integral in
helping people maintain a
better mental standing on
their condition. This and
the ever-loving nature of
dogs make them perfect
cures to depression that
often plagues many patients
and residents of nursing
homes and hospitals.
It's very difficult to
accurately measure how
positive an effect these
dogs have on patients. But
all you have to do to see
that they're doing their
job is a happy smile on a
patient's face when they're
in the company of one of
these amazing healing
hounds.
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