The Psychological Power of Pets

 Lance, a pet visitation dog, spends time with a recuperating soldier at a hospital in Kuwait.

Many teenagers stuck at home with the flu can count on the family dog or cat curling up on their beds all day. Having a furry friend nearby can help one bear the misery. But is the comfort imaginary, or can animals truly assist in healing?

People have had close relationships with animals for millennia. The earliest evidence is the hand of a 12,000-year-old human skeleton found touching the skeleton of a wolf pup. It’s only in recent years, however, that medical professionals are employing animals in their therapy plans. From mental hospitals to jails, dogs, cats, horses, birds, dolphins, and even the occasional lizard are helping patients get better.

The evidence has been mounting for the value of animal-assisted therapy. In the 1980s, doctors found that heart attack survivors lived longer if they owned pets. Simply petting a dog or cat was found to lower blood pressure. More recently, researchers found that being with animals can increase one’s level of oxytocin, a hormone that improves mood and spurs new cell growth. In psychological therapy, having an animal present can help troubled children reveal more than they would on their own, thus speeding diagnosis and recovery. For an autistic child, giving oral commands to a horse can help develop language skills. These are just a few examples of animal-assisted therapies.

Even the National Institutes of Health recognizes the value of animal helpers. It has established the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to conduct further studies. The NIH also has its own four-legged “therapist.” Vi, a genial golden retriever, welcomes families who are staying at the NIH’s inn while the children undergo experimental therapies. Vi not only helps ease the kids’ stress, she helps the parents get some exercise when they take her for a well-deserved walk.

Image credit: © U.S. Army photo by Natalie Cole/Released

Related Links

• Pet Therapy: How Animals and Humans Heal Each Other
  Read about some of the dogs, horses, birds, and even reptiles that therapists are using to help their patients. You can also listen to a podcast of the article.
  (Source: NPR, March 5, 2012)
• Animal-Assisted Therapy
  Follow the links for a brief guide to animal-assisted therapy; includes information on how you and your pet might participate.
  (Source: University of Minnesota; accessed March 31, 2012)
• Animal Assisted Therapy for Special Needs Children
  This short article highlights therapy using horses, dolphins, and dogs for special-needs kids.
  (Source: Aspen Education Group; accessed March 31, 2012)
• Can Pets Help Keep You Healthy?
  This National Institutes of Health newsletter describes studies that show how animals can improve health.
  (Source: National Institutes of Health, February 2009)
• Is Animal Assisted Therapy Really the Cat’s Meow?
  Read this article for a more skeptical view of animal-assisted therapy.
  (Source: Scientific American, June 19, 2008)