Essay On Animal Therapy

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The furry four-legged friends found in places such as hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centers and nursing homes may have a bigger impact than most people know. Dogs participating in Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) are encouraged to assist patients in some way needed and usually have a consistent, benevolent nature (“Pet Therapy”). All dogs are extremely intelligent animals. For example, when humans become upset, a certain smell is produced (Tagliaferro). When the smell is released, some therapy dogs are able to sniff it out and will usually aid the person (Tagliaferro). A common misconception is that therapy dogs are the same as service dogs. “Service dogs are dogs who are specially trained to perform specific tasks to help a person who has…show more content…
When caring for dogs, one has control over something, making the person feel more powerful (“Pet Therapy”). Through walking the dogs, feeding it, or playing with it, people acquire more faith in themselves. People are able to take care of the therapy dogs because their owners may drop them off for a designated amount of time. Along with that, people in rehabilitation gain confidence because the dogs encourage the patients to participate in rehab, which will prompt a faster healing (“What is the Difference”). Also, in the process of gaining confidence, communication is sharpened when describing and talking about the dogs (“Pet Therapy”). Another way of doing this is through reading. Children of all ages and through all illnesses may find that they are intimidated by reading to adults. Dogs, who are eager, quiet, and not judgemental can make reading more entertaining (Marcus). In one situation, a little boy was stumped when he was reading a big word. He asked if the therapy dog knew the word, and with a negative answer from the owner, the kid felt okay that they both did not know the word (Marcus). Overall through confidence, therapy dogs create a source of trust, lower level of social isolation, and increased participation in activities, benefiting human health psychologically. (“Mental Health

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