Having a pet can be beneficial for your health

Dr. Watts
Published: August 23, 2008

Most pet owners would agree that owning a dog or cat enhances one’s life and often leads to relief of stress or anxiety. Now, thanks to the efforts of dedicated, caring people, the benefit is being shared with nursing home patients, hospitalized individuals and even persons with social, cognitive, and/or physical disabilities.

In a novel study, the American Heart Association has actually provided scientific proof that therapy with pets can lower blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety among patients with heart failure. Carefully measuring vital signs and stress hormone levels in 76 heart failure patients, scientists found that those who had visits with therapy pets exhibited less anxiety. In addition, these patients had lower levels of the stress hormone, epinephrine, and had lower blood pressure and lung pressure scores when compared with patients who received only human visitors or none at all.

None of this is news to the Delta Society, a charitable organization whose mission is to “improve human health through service and therapy animals.” Since the 1970s, Delta Society (deltasociety.org) has been a leader in promoting the use of therapy animals to help educate the public about the health benefits of pet ownership and to help improve the recovery quality of ill patients. In a similar manner, Therapy Dogs International (tdi-dog.org) has also been serving the needs of hospitalized patients, nursing home residents, and other places where therapy dogs are needed. Between the two organizations, more than 20,000 dogs are registered across the United States and Canada.

An important clarification should be made between therapy dogs and service dogs. Almost everyone is familiar with the Seeing Eye Dogs or Canine Companions for Independence. These highly trained canines are specifically trained to assist the individual with the chores of day-to-day living. Most often, a service dog is likely to be one of just a few larger breed dogs. In contrast, a therapy dog, or cat, can be of almost any breed and size, as long as the temperament is sound.

Animal Assisted Activities, or AAA, is the most common use of therapy pets. In AAA, dogs, cats, or even birds, are brought into situations to interact with individuals who may be bedridden or unable to interact in a normal social situation, such as children in long-term care facilities. More commonly called “meet and greet” sessions, these activities can help bring joy to people whose lives might otherwise consist of repetitious treatments or other activities that fail to stimulate their emotions and intellect.

In a similar manner, Animal Assisted Therapy, or AAT, uses therapy pets to interact with a single individual. These activities have specific goals set for each individual and often involve coordinating certain physical actions with an interaction with the pet. For example, to help assist a child with fine motor skills, a therapist might bring a cat along and have the child feed the cat small treats from a container.

Even though these visits have documented beneficial effects, concerns about disease transmission, especially with immuno-compromised individuals, should still be paramount. Many organizations have set guidelines as to when and where therapy pets can be used and will avoid taking pets into situations that might pose a risk. The Virginia Veterinary Medical Association has developed animal health guidelines for the administration of animal assisted programs. The information is available at vvma.org/interaction.htm.

Dog and cat owners who feel that their pet might make a good therapy animal should contact either the Delta Society, Therapy Dogs International or a local therapy pet group. Your local hospital, nursing home, or humane society can help get you. As with any animal concern or question, also be sure to talk with your veterinarian about your pet’s qualifications and health status.

Dr. Watts is a companion animal general practitioner and owner of Clevengers Corner Veterinary Care. He can be reached through ClevengersCorner.com or by calling 428-1000. Some columns contain material contributed by the Veterinary News Network.