The Benefits of Pet Therapy

Soon, high school students in the city will write their first semester exams. As we all remember, this is a stressful time for students! One approach to lowering stress levels that is being used at universities and colleges across the country is “pet therapy.” Last month at Dalhousie University, the Student Union and Therapeutic Paws of Canada set up a room filled with dogs and invited students to take a break from studying and spend time with some furry pals. This has also been done at McGill and the University of Victoria with much success. Students found that spending time with the animals was calming and for those whose family pets are back at home, it gave them a chance to re-connect with an animal.

Animals have played a role in our lives for over 12,000 years. Research has found that the relationship between humans and animals, known as the “human-animal bond” is based on a sense of friendly attachment that felt both by pet and human. Importantly, this attachment is much less complicated than that between humans. Hence, the saying that “dogs are our best friends!” In recent years, pet ownership has increased significantly, and 50 per cent or more households have one or more pets. Some researchers believe that this reflects are desire to reconnect with nature and to re-establish bonds with animals. This may also reflect the need to lower stress, which the human-animal bond has been shown to do.

Pet Therapy, also known as pet-facilitated therapy (PFT) or animal-assisted therapy, has increasingly been used for therapeutic purposes. Pets have been found to provide pleasure and comfort and to provide stimulation. In addition to helping university students cope with stress, dogs and cats are being used in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons to provide stress-relief and to help cheer up lonely patients with play, laughter and light exercise. Dogs are also being used to help children with autism.

Having a pet will also help your overall health. In 1992, one study found that pet owners had significantly lower blood pressure and cholesterol than non-pet owners. These benefits were thought to be because of increased levels of exercise from walking with a dog, and also the calming effects of petting and talking to a pet. After a hard day, I find spending a few minutes petting my favourite cat Willow calms me down immensely.

If you have a pet, you can help provide pet therapy to others! Volunteers are always needed and welcome. Therapeutic Paws of Canada is one organization that helps bring pets into hospital, schools, and homes for therapeutic benefits. Locally, River Valley Obedience can help link pet owners with places that need pet therapy. They can be contacted at 444-8874 or visit River Valley Obedience Club