Pet Tip of the Month, February 2012
Animals Show Their Love
By Krystle Wright

It’s easy to see that your dog loves you. Maybe it’s the way she wags her tail – or her whole body – when you walk in the door. If your dogs are anything like my two Shetland Sheepdogs, they want your attention instantly – and they’ll bark, growl, paw and push their way into your lap if they have to. And while there’s nothing quite like that pet-owner bond, here’s another way our furry friends show a deep level of devotion: as service dogs and through pet therapy.

From guide dogs who guide the visually-impaired to pet therapy dogs who help cheer up the bedridden and disabled, these dogs live up to their role as man’s (and woman’s and child’s) best friend every day. So when you’re showing your love to your significant other, your family and your friends, let’s also take a moment to honor these fluffy everyday heroes.

When we think of service animals, guide dogs usually come to mind first.
These dogs protect a human handler, usually visually-impaired, from daily dangers like traffic and everyday obstacles that could cause injury. Not all service animals are used to help with visual impairments. Some service dogs help the hearing-impaired by bringing their owner’s attention to noises that could indicate danger. Others are trained to retrieve objects for patients with physical disabilities and limited mobility. Still others work with patients who have psychological disorders, to help put the patient at ease and detect problematic changes. While these canines still have that lovable quality your pet does, they’ve been trained to know that, when they’re on-duty, there’s no nonsense allowed.

For the sick, the disabled and those in long-term care facilities, visits from properly-trained animals can make a big difference in their well-being. It’s well-known that pets make lovable companions. That warm, fuzzy feeling aside, research also has illustrated that spending time with animals can have measurable physiological effects on patients, such as lowering blood pressure and stabilizing heart rates.

Dogs may be the most prevalent type of service and therapy animal, but they aren’t the only animals to provide therapeutic help to humans. Cats and even fish can help calm and motivate the sick and injured, especially those in hospitals, rehabilitation centers and long-term care facilities. Even horses have proven to help patients with certain disorders, and therapeutic horseback riding has been shown to be especially helpful to disabled children.

In animal-assisted therapy, or AAT, these animals motivate human partners or even help them achieve some goal, like improvement of physical or cognitive abilities. The American Humane Association cites success of AAT interactions with subjects from abuse victims to cancer patients to military veterans and families. In each case, the human-animal interaction helps the human cope better with feelings like loneliness, fear and depression.

Animals aren’t just good at making us feel better. Medical alert dogs can also determine what’s making us feel bad in the first place, or what future dangers we could face. Dogs’ keen sense of smell equips them to perceive changes in the human body, like blood sugar levels, that allow them to function as “diabetes detectors.” These dogs, when properly trained, can even become aware of a problem before the human patient does. They react to changes in a variety of ways, from behaving in such a way to attract an owner’s attention to fetching medical testing supplies and even tripping alarms to get help. Dogs have also been known to detect the presence of other potentially-serious medical conditions, including cancer.

Whether the pet in your life is a service animal who works daily to protect you or just a fluffy buddy to cuddle with after a long day, let’s not forget how much it contributes to our well-being. Even if your pet’s not saving your life, it’s probably saving you from a little stress. Thanks, furry friends, for your unconditional love!

Krystle L. Wright graduated from Rowan University in May 2011 with her M.A. in Writing and her B.A. in Writing Arts.

Krystle just took on her first client as a freelance public relations writer. She loves all kinds of writing but especially fiction, and she’s working on her first novel. When she’s not writing (and even when she is), she’s probably listening to music or shopping.