By Elena Voropay

"Pet therapy", or more precisely, Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) means the use of companion animals to help people with special needs.“Animal Therapy” is an age-old concept. Australians are known for their love of animals and now more families have pets than have children. Pets are dynamic examples of psychological symbiosis: pets need people to care for them, and some people love to care for pets. Medical practitioners, veterinarians, health care professionals and others in many different fields are tapping this unique pet-people bond for its potential therapeutic value.

Animals are the most amazing living creatures we all need around. Dogs and cats, or rabbits, snakes, fish, reptiles, birds, chickens, horses, or any other beautiful representative from the world of fauna, provide unconditional affection and warmth, focus and perspective, amusement and a wonderful feeling of being needed.

Animals bring out our nurturing instinct making us feel safe and unconditionally accepted. We can just be ourselves around our pets. Animals, and especially mammals, can favorably change our social dynamic, which is typically one of withdrawal and increasing isolation among people overcoming sickness, dealing with depression or feeling stressed and fatigued.

Simply having a pet minimizes chances of getting isolated and provides a wonderful foundation for social interaction with neighbors. Pet owners also show to have stronger immunity and more uplifted spirit. Animal therapy introduces human-animal relationship and diversifies the overall perception of things. Companion animals are being introduced into nursing homes, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, psychiatric institutions and others.

Health practitioners recognise that pets can be good for our health. Human contact with animals may help our emotional and physical well-being. The therapeutic use of pets as companions has gained increasing attention for patients with AIDS or cancer, the elderly, and the mentally ill. Unlike people, with whom our interactions may be quite complex and unpredictable, animals provide a constant source of comfort and focus for attention.

Roots of Animal Therapy

Animals have played an intrinsic role within human communities from the earliest civilizations, although the keeping of domestic animals as pets is a comparatively new phenomenon. The use of animals as part of a therapeutic programme was first recorded as early as the 9th century, in Gheel, Belgium, where handicapped people were allowed to care for animals. The current revival in animal facilitated therapy stems largely from the work of an American child psychologist Boris Levinson during the past century.

In 1962 Levinson published his paper "The Dog as a 'Co-therapist” in journal Mental Hygiene" after he discovered a constant rate of progression in treating a disturbed child with the presence of Boris' dog, Jingles. The psychologist went on to find that many children who were withdrawn and uncommunicative would interact positively with the dog (Levinson, 1969). Following the research, medical professionals and scientists started concentrating their attention on the use of animals in many different modalities and demonstrated inspiring promissing results.

Medical Evidence

• Studies have shown that holding or petting an animal will lower blood pressure, release strain and tension, and can help to sleep soundly. Elderly people who have pets visit physicians 16% less often than do those who do not, and that dog owners, in particular, make 21% fewer visits. Water-loving nature's creations are outstanding as well. For example, contemplation of a fish tank during dental treatment and oral surgery can reduce anxiety. Swimming with and caring for dolphins as a group activity in a vacation context has shown to alleviate depression and uplift the overall outlook on life. This, in turn, is a great tool to assist in other treatment modalities of various symptoms and diseases.
   
  

• Animal-assisted therapy may be used to curb violence in the schools and homes. This is not surprising. Understanding and non-judgemental animals may change perceptions and attitudes about the entire world around and naturally awaken the true humane behavior and empathy. Pets may help teach children the responsibilities of daily living, compassion for other creatures who share our planet, and the cycles of life and death. They may help build self-esteem and self-confidence (Ascione & Weber, 1999).
  
  
• Animal-assisted therapy and activity are useful modalities that can be easily incorporated into the counseling and school setting. Animals help to create an atmosphere of trust, nurturance, and serve as a wonderful link for building relationships. Many think that animals can be disturbing, but in fact these amazing creatures actually help a person to focus on a task. The reason is that if a person becomes interested in interacting with the pet, the mind set shifts to the process of learning and development.
  
  

• Petting encourages use of hands and arms, stretching, walking, turning and simply keeps one active and alive. Taking a pet dog for a regular needed walk encourages physical activity, a much needed natural body's demand. It is alarming that more and more people in Australia become overwheight and obese as a result of poor lifestyle choices. A lot of these sufferers don't feel like moving around too much, become lonely and depressed, eat unnourishing foods, and this starts a whole new never-ending viscous cycle of diseases. Just running around after a puppy cleaning up the messy waste encourages and energizes, entertains and gives an outlet for trapped feelings.
  
  

• Visiting with animals can help create a unique welcoming environment and help people feel less lonely, and less depressed. This is a beautiful way to break from a monotonous routine isolation, especially when a person has been ill or in solitude for a long time. The lost interest in communicating with others is restored and people become more active and responsive both during and after visiting with animals. An animal visit not only distracts from pain and infirmity, but entertains and amuses. Simply watching how the living things discover the new environment and captivate our eyes, eyers and noses on the objects around us in an innocent way makes all appreciate the little pleasures we have a little more. People often talk to the dogs, and share with them their thoughts and feelings and memories.
  
  

• Many psychiatrists, psychologists, and family practice physicians have prescribed pets for their patients to combat loneliness, depression, and other emotional problems including inactivity and stress. People find that talking to the animal while the therapist listens is easier than talking to the therapist alone. What's more, the presence of the animal can facilitate a trust-building bond between the therapist and client and often help clients focus on an issue as they interact with the animal. “Animal Therapy” presents the needed person with unconditional acceptance and interaction working like a bridge between lost emotions and feelings of presence.
  
  

• In the United States, prisoner rehabilitation programmes using animals are becoming very popular. Prisoners are allowed to look after abused and mistreated animals - grooming, care and interacting with with animals makes prisoners living in unwanted environments more sensitive, which in turn helps them to tolerate threatening stimuli, such as exploring their past - usually the cause of their dysfunctional behavior. Through their experience with animals, it is hoped they may become productive citizens. At Cape Town's Pollsmoor Prison, currently one of the only prisons in South Africa using animals and birds have been introduced with remarkably inspiring results!

What To Expect From Animal Therapy

The comforting and playful presence of animal's warm can be integrated into individual or group therapy and with a very wide range of age groups and persons with varying ability. There are many different types of therapy animals. The most common are dogs, cats, horses, birds and fish. Farm and small animals can be therapeutic as well, such as cattle, rabbits, hamsters, monkeys, koalas and even llamas. Each of these animals has specific skills and abilities which may contribute to the therapeutic process depending on the healing feature. Mental health and educational professionals who engage in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) should demonstrate knowledge and skill in:

Social skill development and obedience training for the pet Therapy or activity skill training for the pet and handle Establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with counseling and educational facility staff Assessing the appropriateness of AAT with a particular client or student Knowledge of zoonoses (transmittable diseases) and their risk management Evaluating, establishing and applying counseling or educational goals and interventions for the specific therapy or modality

Any therapy animal has to behave well, be physically and psycologicaly healthy, and propery respond to the handler's commands. A fearful, aggressive, sick, intimidating or unresponsive animal is definitely not suitable for this profession.

If you decide to own a pet, choose one wisely. Determine what your needs are and how much of your time, attention and resources you can contribute. Remember, having a pet is a great responsibility for the living being and the animal expects and demands a lot from you as well. So, first ensure that it's not your pet that will take care of you and help you deal with challenges – just the opposite. You are in charge of your pet's well-being, but the reward of giving all your love to the living creation may be really worthwhile. You will learn so much from owning a pet, that you may become your own healer or therapist.