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Therapy Dogs
Therapy dogs are like the hugs that make all your problems melt away. Children with disabilities, the lonely geriatric patient, or the wounded or permanent ill, are all candidates that can receive the comforting blessing from a well-trained therapy dog. Therapy dogs are not considered service dogs, which assist the handicapped. A primary difference is that service dogs are constantly with their owner, whereas therapy dogs are visitors to certain institutions, such as hospitals, burn-treatment centers, homes for the developmentally disabled, mental institutions, nursing homes, disaster areas, or wherever their therapeutical companionship might be of assistance.
Therapy dogs are usually a student of the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen Test (CGC), but they can be any breed of dog. They must show an exceptional temperament, and be suitable to enter environments where there are large amounts of people and service and medical equipment. Although the benefits of therapy dogs are becoming increasingly clear, and anecdotal evidence is on its way to becoming scientific evidence, there is still a concern of the transfer of bacteria between a dog and its surroundings. However, the majority of hospitals and medical institutions are favorable to therapy dogs being a part of routine medical care, and committees to devise the healthiest systems are increasingly underway.
Some of studies on the benefits of therapy dogs are from the Delta Society National Service Dog Center. Their studies have shown that therapy dogs not only provide cognitive benefits, but also physical benefits, such as lowered heart rates and blood pressure. There's even reports that dogs can detect seizures and heart problems before they occur. Moreover, there is no doubt that just the act of petting or holding a dog can provide physical benefits to the muscles and joints. The Delta Society, and many other non-profit organizations that are advocates for the benefits of therapy dogs, have case studies available that show the beneficial affects therapy dogs can have on depression, self-esteem, speech and smiles. It is often said that the therapy dog gives unconditional acceptance to a human, whereas a person-to-person interaction might give way to harmful derogatory remarks.
ABC News did an article in 2007 on the new placement of therapy dogs to provide benefits to girls that would be normally considered "at-risk" of going down the wrong road. Many of these girls, who have suffered lives of abuse and mistrust, claim that the reason the dogs help is because of their "unconditional love." The therapy dogs are able to "trust and be trusted" when people can't. Even the "coldest" girls find themselves warming up to therapy dogs.
Therapy dogs are increasingly playing a larger part in the physical and emotional development of our lonely, our hurt, and our housebound. As the scientific evidence increases, there is not doubt that the use of therapy dogs in schools, hospitals, and other institutions will increase also. If it's "a dog's world" as one clich goes, than the evidence is showing it's going to be a happier world.
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