Pet Therapy (also known as Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) or Animal Facilitated Therapy (AFT)) are therapies in which animals, usually dogs, visit with individuals or groups of people in a private or communal setting for example a hospital, convalescent home or old age home.
Dogs who work in pet therapy settings are generally assigned to a specific therapy protocol under the supervision of a professional (Animal Facilitated Therapy) or a more generalized setting as in Animal Assisted Therapy. Pets are used to help heal ill or disabled people and speed and enhance the healing process, but how does pet therapy work?.
Animal Facilitated Pet Therapy
AFT is an animal enhanced physical therapy setting in which the patient would be, for example, asked to pick up a brush and brush the dog five times. Later the patient would learn to attach a leash to a collar and groom the dog completely. In this way, pet therapy helps the patient to re-learn skills.
In the case where the patient has social or mental problems the patient may be asked to concentrate his or her attention on the dog for a certain number of seconds. The time is gradually increased to improve the patient’s attention skills and abilities. Later the patient may have full interaction with the dog. Records are always kept so that the effectiveness of the pet therapy may be evaluated later.
Animal Assisted Pet Therapy
In this form of pet therapy the dog makes generalized visits to the home or hospital and are actually owned by volunteers i.e. the dogs are pets. These volunteers usually don’t have any special skills or training in therapeutic techniques but the dogs and people are skilled socially and well behaved.
The aim of AAT is to make the lives of those who are ill or undergoing treatments a little brighter and more pleasant. Although the patients do achieve a therapeutic effect from the visits there is no formal therapy plan.
How Does Pet Therapy Benefit Patients?
Often, this depends on the individual, their specific problem or ailment and the treatment protocol if there is one. The dog is there to offer a motivation for the person to become involved in a therapeutic activity but the reasons for this motivation are different for each person. There are those who find the dog’s acceptance or lack of judgment helpful and still others enjoy the idea that they are being of use to a living thing.
Many people find the pet therapy visits stimulating as they break the routine and are a source of fun and enjoyment. This seems to brighten their outlook and may speed healing or help avoid depression. People who have withdrawn completely from any human interaction may find it easier or more desirable to talk to a pet.
The lack of a therapy protocol in AAA does not negate the beneficial effects of pet therapy and similar results may be obtained to AFT without any formal structure.
How is the Pet Affected by the Visit?
Each dog is different and reactions vary. Many dogs love to be out and about and interact with different people in different places and others simply enjoy the attention. There are animals that find it somewhat stressful since they need to be well behaved at all times or because the patients can be unpredictable during the pet therapy session.
They may become frustrated at being ‘passed around’ to several different people. In general they arrive home tired and enjoy a good sleep!
Does the Animal Need Special Training?
In general the animals don’t need special training but should be polite, calm and responsive to basic commands like: sit, stay, down and come. If a dog can obey commands to move his position it will be very helpful – for example to get between two wheelchairs or walk into a narrow space between seated patients.
Being able to command your dog to place his paws on a bed or chair to visit with a patient is also a very rewarding behavior. If your dog knows the difference between licking or refraining from doing so it is very useful for situations where hygiene is important.
How Can You Get Involved in Pet Therapy?
Animal Assisted Therapy is a formal therapeutic program so you will need to find a professional willing to supervise your visits or you may choose to be a professional and run your own program. Delta Society is a good starting point but there are other organizations that are involved in formal therapy.
http://www.dog-play.com/join.html will give you a list of national organizations as will http://www.dog-play.com/therapyl.html.
More Information
There is a lot of information available both from individuals working in the programs and web sites devoted to the subject.
http://www.dog-play.com/therapyl.html lists web pages offering information:
* Online information about screening methods.
* Resources to help an individual start their own group.
* Resources to educate about issues related to visiting e.g. disease concerns, handling stress, appropriate pet-patient interactions etc.
* Articles listing academic resources for those researching related issues.
Can You Get Paid for Doing Pet Therapy?
There are some paid staff members but very few. For example, there may be one paid employee who organizes and supervises visits. This would probably be a part-time position. There may be a paid position offered for someone to do evaluations, or to hold classes for the dog and handler teams. It is generally a voluntary activity.
How Can I Work in Pet Therapy as a Career?
Licensed mental health or social welfare professionals may include animals in their therapies. So far there isn’t a course of study specific to pet therapy as a career. Of course there are programs available to teach the training of service dogs.
How Can You Start Your Own Pet Therapy Program?
The Therapy Dogs, Animal Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Activities Links page at http://www.dog-play.com/therapyl.html lists several links to organizations that sell books, booklets or pamphlets on starting your own program. Try to concentrate on the following questions:
* How you are going to scope your visits
* Decide how you will screen participants
* Decide your rules for visit behavior
* Decide how you will screen facilities
* Arrange Insurance
* Recruit volunteers
* Recruit facilities to visit.
The love and unconditional acceptance of our furry friends makes pet therapy one of the most rewarding and effective therapies. Animals are quite non-judgmental creatures and this can help an ill or infirm patient feel more whole and complete than the sometimes critical attitudes that accompany human interaction. If you enjoy working with animals and people and have a passion for healing then pet therapy might be perfect for you. Don’t forget to consider your pets – they should enjoy pet therapy just as much as you!