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On a sunny July day in 2005, I got home from swim practice and walked into my kitchen
to eat a snack. I looked out of the window and I spotted a small gray figure sprinting across the
lawn. I had seen him in our backyard a couple of days before. In fact, we had gone to the store
and bought supplies in case he returned. He was a skinny grey cat with distinctive white marks
on his face and chest. I called for my mom and we prepared a plate of cat food for him. My mom
gave me the bowl and we carefully opened the screen door to the backyard as to not scare him
away. We cautiously walked towards him, set down the food, and slowly backed away. Once he
realized the food was for him, he quickly ran over and started to scarf down the food. He had not
eaten for weeks. He looked pathetic. He weighed about six pounds and he was covered in dirt
and flies. For the next week, my mom and I continued to feed him and, after a while, he became
comfortable enough for me to pet him. For the next week or two, I ran home from swim practice
and went directly to the backyard where I would sit on the ground on my wet towel and swat the
flies away from the cat as I petted him and gave him treats.
We soon realized that this cat did not have any owners so we took him to the vet, named
him Winston, and adopted him. At the time, the vet thought he was at least ten years old and we
would have only a couple more years with him. Little did we know in 2005 that he would still
bring joy to our household in 2017. Winston became a part of our family and he has enriched our
lives for many years. Winston and I formed a great bond, which sparked my love for animals and
drove me to become a volunteer at Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), a local animal shelter,
during my freshman year at Northgate. As a result, I am usually surrounded by animals and have
seen the delight that they bring to people. Everytime I show people a dog or a cat at ARF they
always light up and become instantly happy. Since I have seen this happen again and again, I
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have wondered why animals affect people this way and why animals seem to help people when
they are sad or hurting. This led me to investigate the question: How do animals help to alleviate
To see the happiness that animals bring to people, I visited a birthday party put on by the
people at ARF. ARF hosts birthday parties so it can educate children from ages four and up on
the importance of animals and how to treat animals properly. I walked through the glass doors of
ARF and was hit with the smell of freshly popped popcorn and cleaning fluid from the newly
mopped floor. Light from the sun roof filled the foyer. As I walked to the birthday party room, I
passed playful cats and dogs in their brightly colored condos. The birthday party room was
packed with small children and their parents. Towards the end of every party, the kids interact for
about 15 minutes with an animal from the Pet Hug Pack. The Pet Hug Pack is an organization of
owners and their dogs who visit places, such as schools and hospitals. I watched as the children
quietly listened to the party leader talk about how to approach a dog. The children had no idea
that they were about to meet a giant bear-like dog called a Leonberger. The party leader gave the
signal to the Leonbergers owner and the dog entered the room. I could see all of the childrens
faces light up immediately and they all rushed towards the dog. Everyone, including myself, had
a giant smile on their face. I found it amazing that the mere presence of a dog could lift
everyones spirits so drastically. Many organizations, including the Pet Hug Pack, take advantage
of this effect that animals have on people, and use it to help people in need of therapy.
Through my research, I learned that animals can provide therapy and help people in need
in many ways. A number of animals, including, cats, dogs, birds, and horses, have been used to
help these people where therapy is provided. Animals have appeared in mental hospitals, nursing
homes, schools, and jails for more than 150 years (Rovner). Some call this kind of therapy
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trained and well-socialized animal as a therapeutic tool. Therapy animals are commonly used in
medical, physical, and mental hospital health settings as well as as in rehabilitation (Crawford et
al. 163). AAT is a relatively new kind of therapy, which has become increasingly popular. To find
out more about the subject, I interviewed Pet Hug Pack Coordinator, Pat Mills. Mills described
animal therapy by saying, Animal therapy defies scientific explanation and cannot be compared
to other types of therapy. This statement could not be more true. Animal therapy is a completely
different kind of therapy and few understand why it works. As described below, therapy animals
can help people with different types of mental illnesses, elderly people, people with severe
medical conditions, and everyday animals help their owners daily without them even knowing it.
For example, animals can dramatically help people with various mental conditions, such
as autism, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Children with autism usually have underdeveloped
social skills and they find interacting with people difficult. In a CBS article, Jessica Firger wrote,
new research finds autistic children who have pets at home have much more advanced social
skills and are more assertive and communicative than autistic children who do not have an
animal companion (Firger). Many children with autism are closely connected to their pets
because their pets provide a sense of companionship and security. A variety of different animals
can help with autism. Recently, a speech therapist, Cathy Coleman, worked with a nine-year-old
boy with autism, named Ryan (Rovner). Their therapy sessions took place at a barn where they
worked with a pony named Happy. Coleman and Ryan used to meet in a regular office setting but
once they started their sessions with Happy, Ryans speech abilities dramatically increased. He
also was able to follow directions better and improved his basic life skills including, getting
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dressed and balance. This example shows that AAT does not have to directly relate to the needs
that autistic children have, such as improving a childs ability to communicate, to be successful.
Something as simple as horseback riding can greatly improve an autistic childs life.
Animals also have been used with people who have been through a traumatic experience.
Veterans that suffer from PTSD improve greatly by having an animal as a companion. The
animal helps them feel a sense of love and reduces their stress. Dogs can aid veterans because
they take orders well, which is very comforting for someone with PTSD who is used to very
structured rules and orders from the military (Dogs and PTSD). Dogs also reduce the persons
anxiety. Some people with PTSD constantly sense danger when they enter a new building or are
doing something that is out of their comfort zone. Having a dog helps these people feel protected
and secure. Dogs also can support people who have gone through other traumas. National
Geographic reported that, in 2012, comfort dogs were brought to the victims of the Sandy Hook
shooting. A little girl who hadnt spoken since the shootings finally started talking to her mother
again after petting one of the comfort dogs (Fiegl). Similarly, Merope Pavlides found that a
concentration camp survivor, Bettelheim noticed similarities in behaviors of children with autism
and victims of the camp, and erroneously deduced a correlation in etiology (Pavlides 17). Often
children with autism and people who suffer from a trauma are unable to trust and open up.
Animals, like the comfort dogs used at the Sandy Hook shooting, can support people by giving
them someone to trust, which allows them to share their feelings (Pavlides 20).
People who suffer from depression and anxiety also may be unable to feel safe or open
up. Animals are very helpful for them as well. In particular, dogs assist people with these
disorders because dogs force them to be active. People who are anxious and depressed find it
difficult and stressful to leave their homes because they feel comfortable when they are isolated.
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Because dogs need to go on walks, their owners must overcome their fears and go outside when
they would not otherwise do so (Schwartz). As with people with autism, pets provide a sense of
companionship for people suffering from anxiety, which helps build their self confidence. In a
study done by Andrea Beetz and her colleagues, one group interacted with an animal for 15 min
while the control group read magazines. Interacting with the animal significantly reduced anxiety
and fear (Beetz et al.). These researchers also conducted numerous studies on the subject of
human-animal interaction and they found benefits for: social attention, social behavior,
interpersonal interactions, and mood; stress-related parameters such as cortisol, heart rate, and
blood pressure; self-reported fear and anxiety; and mental and physical health, especially
cardiovascular diseases (Beetz et al.). Given these benefits, it is not surprising that animals help
Nursing homes also have employed animal therapy to assist elderly people. Elderly
people often feel lonely and constantly worry about tomorrow, which can lead to depression in
some cases. Animals that go to nursing homes brighten peoples days and support them by
making them feel less lonely. In an article about animal therapy with elderly people, Barbara
Ballinger said, For elderly pet owners, who often live alone or in group facilities, pets can help
reduce stress, lower blood pressure, increase social interaction, and help them learn (Ballinger).
Animals help elderly people not only with loneliness, they also help with their physical well-
being. Studies have found that animal companionship has helped contribute to higher survival
rates of people with coronary disease and has saved the lives of about 30,000 people from dying
with a heart disease every year (Curit). In some cases, animals also are saving elderly people
money because they are receiving the benefits of animal therapy rather than paying for other
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kinds of medical treatment. In fact, some elderly people are saving thousands of dollars on
medical bills every year as well as receiving extremely beneficial therapy (Curit).
Animals also are appearing more often at hospitals because they can provide a lot of
support to people with medical conditions. Animal-assisted therapy in hospitals occurs when a
doctor suggests that a patient may benefit from pet therapy. If the patient agrees, an animal,
usually a dog, is brought into the patients room. The patient usually spends 10 to 15 minutes
petting the dog and interacting with the dogs owner before the dog is taken away (Pet
Therapy). The dog does not have to do anything special because the mere presence of the dog is
the patients therapy session. Doctors prescribe this therapy because therapy pets repeatedly
show that animals can jump start therapy when the therapists, clients, or patients are avoidant,
have become stuck in their therapies, or have little to no hope of progress (Crawford et al. 167).
This therapy may be effective because studies have shown that animals significantly reduce
peoples pain, anxiety, and depression in people who are cancer patients, who are in long-term
care facilities, or who are hospitalized with chronic heart failure (Pet Healer). I was surprised
to learn that petting an animal can have all these great psychological effects.
For animal-assisted therapy in places like hospitals, a dog is usually used for the therapy
sessions. Dogs are used for therapy in this kind of environment because they are so use to
meeting new people and are comfortable in new environments. Other animals also can assist
people and may provide different perks depending on the environment. I recently sat down and
chatted with Anne Martin, who is the executive director at the House Rabbit Society. Martin
stated, Rabbits have been used in animal therapy but are not the best choice for therapy that
involves a lot of travel because rabbits are usually uncomfortable in unfamiliar environments.
So, they are more beneficial to the therapy of their specific owner. Even though animal therapy
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uses specially trained animals, regular animals also can greatly improve the overall happiness
and stress of their owners. People and their pets often form an unbreakable bond because animals
are able to forge very strong emotional connections with their owners (Crawford et al. 165).
Even though people rarely use rabbits in animal therapy settings outside their homes, rabbits can
In doing my research, I found one scientific reason why animals have a beneficial effect
on people. The cause is a chemical in our brain, which increases when we are near an animal.
When animals and humans interact, the humans level of oxytocin increases. Oxytocin is a
hormone in the brain. When it is released into the bloodstream, it induces a person to feel more
relaxed, it makes them feel more trusting, and it provides physiological stability. Oxytocin also
helps reduce stress and helps with anxiety (Macgill). Rebecca Johnson, who is the head of the
Veterinary Science, said in an interview with Julie Rovner from NPR that, Oxytocin has some
powerful effects for us in the body's ability to be in a state of readiness to heal, and also to grow
new cells, so it predisposes us to an environment in our own bodies where we can be healthier
(Rovner). Beetz and her colleagues found similar results after they did numerous tests on the
subject. They found that oxytocin stimulates social interaction and it increases eye contact,
empathy, face memory, trust, social skills, positive self-perception, and generosity and decreases
depression (Beetz et al.). They also found it decreases the glucocorticoid (stress hormone) levels
in people. No wonder animals are so advantageous to people with anxiety and depression.
Oxytocin also increases how the parasympathetic nervous system functions. The parasympathetic
nervous system controls the endocrine system of the gastrointestinal tract, which helps people
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remain healthy, and helps restore ones body. Thus, oxytocin explains why animals are so helpful
for people who are recovering from a medical condition and need rehabilitation.
As described above, over the years, animal therapy has become increasingly popular.
Animals can be found at nursing homes, hospitals, and mental hospitals. They also provide
therapy and improve the lives of their pet owners everyday. As explained above, animals may
help people because they induce an increase in a persons oxytocin hormone, which reduces
stress. Oxytocin appears to be one answer to my original question of why animals help reduce
peoples stress and why they are used to provide therapy to people. Even though oxytocin has all
of these great effects, I still wonder why animal therapy can cause people to recover from
incurable medical conditions. As Mills explained in my interview with her, animal therapy is
almost unexplainable by science. It is practically magic and it works in ways no one can quite
understand. Even though my research answered part of my question, many other questions still
remain unanswered about animal therapy. As animal therapy continues to grow in popularity,
more people will become aware of this effective therapy. I strongly believe that researchers
should conduct more studies so we can learn the full extent to which animal therapy can assist
people. Maybe it can aid in finding cancer cures, or maybe it can help treat autism or
Alzheimers. With so many possibilities for this therapy, I look forward to seeing how it is used
in the future.
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Works Cited
Books:
Crawford, Jacqueline J., Karen A. Pomerinke, and Donald W. Smith. Therapy Pets: The
Electronic Sources:
Ballinger, Barbara. "The Healing Power of Pets for Elderly People." The Benefits of
Elderly Owning Pets - AgingCare.com. N.p., 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
Beetz, Andrea, Kerstin Uvns-Moberg, Henri Julius, and Kurt Kotrschal. "Psychosocial
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Curit, Rachel. "Benefits of Animal Companionship for the Elderly." One Green Planet.
"Dogs and PTSD." Dogs and PTSD - PTSD: National Center for PTSD. U.S. Department
Firger, Jessica. "Pets Help Autistic Kids Improve Social Skills." CBS News. CBS
MacGill, Markus. "Oxytocin: What Is It and What Does It Do?" Medical News Today.
"Pet Therapy: Man's Best Friend as Healer." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical
Rovner, Julie. "Pet Therapy: How Animals And Humans Heal Each Other." NPR. NPR,
Schwartz, Allan. "Depression, Anxiety And Pets." Mental Help Depression Anxiety and
Primary Sources:
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