Having a pet around the home adds comfort, companionship and often laughter to family life. But for children undergoing therapies, recovering from an illness or managing a disability, pets have a special job, too.
In honor of National Pet Month in May, here’s a closer look at therapy pets—the gentle and professional unsung heroes trained to assist and emotionally support families in need.
What Are Therapy Pets?
Therapy pets are animals with very important jobs, helping humans in many of the same avenues other therapists do—in physical therapy, in occupational therapy or even just in providing comfort at a challenging time.
Therapy pets, which require extensive training for both animal and handler, and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs), which can be any animal, are not “service animals” under Title II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—that title is held by dogs alone. Many therapy pets happen to be dogs, however.
Therapy pets can often be cats, horses, miniature horses, rabbits, guinea pigs and rats.
What Therapy Pets Do
According to VCA Animal Hospitals, which has locations throughout the Delaware Valley, there are three basic types of pet therapy, the most common of which is therapeutic visitation. These animals visit healthcare facilities with their owners.
Animal-assisted therapy involves animals trained to assist physical and occupational therapists with their patients.
The third type is facility therapy. According to Canine Companions, a U.S.-based nonprofit that trains and provides assistance dogs, these therapy pets receive special training to be able to monitor and engage patients with a specific ailment and may be trained in picking up items, opening doors, providing calming pressure or other assistive tasks.
Facility dogs are most seen in occupation, speech and physical therapy, special education, child life and criminal justice settings.
How Do Therapy Pets Help?
Nursing Made Incredibly Easy, a peer-reviewed journal series for nurses, cites pet therapy as being able to help some patients by decreasing stress levels, blood pressure, pain, fatigue, anxiety, fear, isolation and loneliness. At the same time, pet therapy has been shown to improve patient satisfaction, energy levels, self-esteem, mood, motor skills, social skills and more.
It’s well-documented that animals can make people feel better, but what is the science behind it?
We spoke with Lisa Osier, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with VCA Animal Hospitals, to learn more about the connection humans and animals share and what makes a therapy pet good at its job.
Osier has been in the field of veterinary medicine for two decades. In that time, many of her clients have had therapy pets.
Since Osier was a child, she’s been fascinated by the bond between humans and their animals. Now, as a veterinarian and a pet owner herself, she’s been able to study that bond up close.
“The connection between humans and animals, I mean, I think it goes both ways. I think we all can kind of see, especially with dogs, how much they want to please their people and how much almost immediate love they have for the people that are taking care of them,” Osier says. “On the flip side…I see so many people that almost can’t live without their pet because they bring them such comfort and joy.”
Another ingredient to the success of these animals is their temperament.
“They need to be calm; they need to be minimally reactive,” Osier explains. “A reactive dog is one that startles to noise, other animals or large objects—you want the opposite of that.”
Think your pup has what it takes? The first step for many therapy dogs is to pass the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen Test. Visit akc.org to find training opportunities near you.
Therapy Pets in the Delaware Valley
Every week, thousands of children in Bucks County experience the magic touch of therapy dogs.
“There’s a lot of science now that shows that, you know, being around a dog—even if it’s not your own, lowers your blood pressure and slows your breathing,” says Sharon Fleck, president of Roxy Therapy Dogs.
Roxy Therapy Dogs is a volunteer-powered nonprofit based in Bucks County. The organization has more than 70 dog-and-handler teams visiting about 3,500 children every week. Whether the students need a calming presence, a furry icebreaker or a nonjudgmental reading partner, these dogs are on duty.
Fleck and her dog, Bleu, are one of those teams. Fleck has been participating in the program for nearly 20 years with three different dogs.
The Roxy Dogs don’t just visit schools. Some of Roxy’s teams participate in the nonprofit’s courthouse companionship program. These special dogs provide emotional support for children who need to testify.
“Imagine, for a young child having to go in and testify in front of, you know, a big scary judge, is kind of terrifying—so, having the dogs there is something that’s really helpful and beneficial for those kids,” Fleck says.
Learn more and find volunteering opportunities at roxytherapydogs.com.
