“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), Scottish novelist

Agnes, an elderly resident in a large facility for the aged, is sitting by herself.   She is totally withdrawn from those around her.  She has few friends and relatives, and even fewer visitors.  She rarely talks to other residents because her memories seem like shadows to her.  Every single day is the same as the one before.

One day something unusual happens.  A large golden dog enters the room, wags its tail and comes up to nuzzle her hand. Agnes cries because suddenly she remembers her old dog and how she had to leave it when she came to the home. But the tears are a release, and the dog becomes a friend who comes to see her every week-along with the kind lady who owns him.  “The effects on our elderly residents are immediate,” said a recreation director for a center for the elderly in New York.  “Their faces come alive; their eyes light up. They sit up and reach down to pet the dog and engage with both the animal and the therapist.”
This is a story that’s repeated again and again across the country.  The golden retriever who visited Agnes is one of thousands of therapy pets who regularly are taken to the sick, the elderly, the mentally disturbed, the blind, and the deaf in homes and hospitals all over the U.S.  Therapy animals (typically dogs, but cats, birds and rabbits are also brought into hospitals and elder-care facilities) fulfill a very important need. So many people have to part with their pets when they go into homes. As a result, many of them withdraw and become morose and unhappy. That’s why pet therapy has become so important.  On many occasions the visits have changed the lives and improved the happiness of the elderly in communities. It gives them a point of communication, and it has been well documented that physical contact with a pet is therapeutic.  Did you know that pet therapy can help with Alzheimer’s care and dementia care?

Studies have confirmed the positive physiological effects that pets can have on humans with animal-assisted therapy. In one study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, subjects had their blood pressure taken when they spoke to a researcher. Then a dog was introduced into the room. The subjects’ blood pressure dropped when they petted or spoke to the animal as they chatted with the researcher. In addition, people can become more social when they are in the presence of animals. A researcher reviewed 25 studies that examined the effects pets had on nursing home patients and discovered they were more alert and smiled more when the animals were there.  Moreover, patients who were physically aggressive calmed down and allowed people to be near them.