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Pet Therapy
What is pet therapy? Pet therapy also known as, animal assisted therapy, uses trained animals and handlers to achieve certain physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with the patients. There are other names available for pet therapy such as, visiting pet, therapy dogs, and therapy pet. ... I have included a brief history of how pet therapy started and how it has evolved. The benefits that animal and visiting therapy has on people of all ages from the very young to the very old. ... What breed, characteristics, certification and training needed to make a pet a good candidate for pet therapy? How do you know if your dog is ready for therapy dog visits? ... Boris Levinson, an American child psychiatrist, started the phrase pet therapy in 1964, after seeing the effects that his dog made on severely withdrawn children. Today, pet therapy has grown to provide therapeutic care to assisted living facilities, nursing homes, senior day care, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, psychiatric facilities, respite care for children and adults, women and children shelters, hospices and children’s programs.
The benefits of pet therapy include physical, social, cognitive, and emotional therapy to people of all ages. Studies have shown that physical contact with a pet can lower high blood pressure, and improve survival rates for heart attack victim and other debilitated illnesses. ... In addition, pet therapy can help improve or enhance cognitive skills. ... Walking a dog, throwing a ball, reaching to touch a cat, or bending to pet a rabbit all increase gross motor skills. Similarly, when patients pet, touch a specific body part on your rabbit, tie a bow on your cat, fasten her collar, or feed a treat all sharpen their fine motor skills. Just talking to a pet can strengthening speech and communication skills. ... There are additional rules that must be reviewed before pet therapy can take place. ... Certain times may be off limit for pet visit such as meal times and dining areas. Resident pets and therapy pets must be controlled at all times. ...
Animal assisted therapy does not involve just any pet interacting, with a patient. ... There are different criteria and requirements for rehab therapy, and visiting therapy.
Approximate Word count = 1774
Approximate Pages = 7.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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