subject: Dogs As A Means Of Therapy [print this page] Everyone knows that dogs are wonderful petsEveryone knows that dogs are wonderful pets. But you may not be aware of how dogs can help in the therapy process, as many health care facilities have discovered the healing power of dogs, due to their being loving and loyal creatures. Animals, particularly dogs, have been used by these health care facilities and have been proven to be a good way to deal with certain clinical issues. Dogs are noteworthy for their relaxing effect.
Dogs are able to relax individuals and help them forget about their issues, making them perfect to heal emotionally depressed individuals. So now you know why dogs are serving this purpose more often in medical facilities. Dogs are specially trained for their jobs of helping to take care of the sick, the elderly or the infirm.
Facility therapy dogs, animal-assisted therapy dogs and therapeutic visitation dogs are the three main classifications of dogs used for physical and emotional therapy. The first two types assist physical therapists by meeting the requirements for a person's recovery. These two varieties are oftentimes permanently assigned to certain hospitals. But therapeutic visitation dogs are the most common variety of dogs used for healing.
Therapeutic visitation dogs are ordinary pets whose owners take to hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. It is their job to provide companionship for the elderly, as well as the mentally or physically ill. These people are usually in a highly stressful or depressing environment and a visit from a therapy dog can always brighten their day and help them deal with their problems.
Through their bright example, these dogs help the people they meet maintain a positive attitude. It is important to think positive and never give up, in order to feel young, active and happy. Pets also provide a chance for patients to touch and be touched. A person would need the gift of healthy touch to ensure a healthy state of mind, so this is yet another great example of how therapeutic visitation dogs can be a great help to those in need of physical contact.
This is integral in helping people maintain a better mental standing on their condition. This and the ever-loving nature of dogs make them perfect cures to depression that often plagues many patients and residents of nursing homes and hospitals.
There aren't too many figures that can accurately describe how dogs have been such a great help to these patients. But all you have to do to see that they're doing their job is a happy smile on a patient's face when they're in the company of one of these amazing healing hounds.
