Animal-Assisted Therapy Benefits
Physical Wellbeing
Interaction with a trained animal companion can lower blood pressure, reduce physical pain, promote relaxation, and in some cases even reduce the need for pain medication.
Mental Health
Animal-assisted therapy has been shown to help reduce anxiety, stress and alleviate depression. It encourages communication and provides the motivation for a faster recovery.
Reading Support
READing Paws assists children who are struggling to read. Our pets provide a non-judgmental and unbiased audience while a child reads a book, relieving stress and anxiety so they may practice without pressure.
Cognitive Skills
On a visit, a volunteer may start a conversation by asking, “Have you ever owned a pet?” When patients talk about pets they used to own, remember information about the therapy animal, or talk about animals in general, they are developing cognitive and knowledge skills.
Memory
Asking the patient to recall information about a pet, or asking a patient to give a sequence of cues to a dog, can exercise memory skills.
Motor Skills
Walking a dog, playing fetch, reaching to touch a cat, or bending to pet your rabbit all increase gross motor skills. Animal-assisted therapy can help with a variety of physical, occupational, and speech therapy goals. For increased upper extremity range of motion, the patient can throw an object for your dog to retrieve, use hand signals to cue your dog, use a leash to maneuver him, and pat, stroke, or brush your pet.
Stress Relief
Interacting with a well-behaved and well-trained therapy animal has been clinically proven to release calmin endorphins in the brain, which causes an automatic relaxation response. This is believed to even reduce the amount of medication that some patients need to withstand physical pain.
Speech & Communication
Calling a dog, giving cues, and talking about a pet helps to work vocal volume, breath support, increase vocal clarity and language production.
Encouraging a patient to describe objects or formulate short phrases to practice verbal expression and require the patient to focus attention on a pet, the task, and the therapist.
Balance & Coordination
Work on balance by petting an animal or throwing an object for a dog to retrieve in various positions.
For mobility, the patient can walk or use their wheelchair with a volunteer and their dog. Reaching for a toy or brushing a pet strengthens coordination.
Mental Health
Smiles and conversation may be a major step in the battle against depression, may aid to increase self-esteem, reduce anxiety and loneliness. Patients whose emotional pain has isolated them from others may joyfully join in a group conversation about their own beloved animals as they interact with a therapy animal.
Heart Health
The calming effect of animal-assisted therapy can reduce blood pressure, which promotes cardiovascular health without the use of additional medication.