Progressive Wednesday

9 Lives in Dog Years: Visit

June 6th, 2007 by Progressive Wednesday

You’re constantly showing Rover off to passersby when you go for a walk. You love to do it, they love to give him the attention, and he most assuredly loves getting it. The bond between humans and pets provides many health benefits for humans, improves the quality of life for the animal, and even plays a strong role in the upbringing of a child.

I’ll be more specific, and use a bullet list to do so:

Many studies have shown that having a pet…

• Reduces the fatality rate for heart attack sufferers by six fold.
• Seriously lowers blood pressure and stress, especially among the elderly.
• Lowers both cholesterol and triglycerides.
• Reduces the number of minor health issues and medical appointments needed.
• Decreases the severity of depression for those who suffer from it.
• Increases the exercise level of their owners who have to walk and care for them.

There are even the animals that can predict seizures and episodes of low blood sugar in diabetics, can �unfreeze� the feet of a Parkinson’s patient, and one can even smell malignant melanomas.

But there are many people who are unable to care for a pet full-time, including many elderly folks, and consequently are unable to enjoy the health benefits of pet ownership. Delta Society’s Pet Partners are working to bring those benefits to these people. Here it is in their own words:

Delta Society’s Pet Partners program trains volunteers and screens volunteers and their pets for visiting animal programs in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, schools and other facilities.

If you’ve got a sociable pet that is friendly around strangers, check out the Pet Partners’ website. Then join the 8,800 other people around the country who share their animals to help heal the sick and comfort the elderly. You’ll be provided with all the information you need so your animal can start to improve the quality of life for others.

Pet Partners is not the only group dedicated to this cause, though it is the only one who actually trains the animals and their handlers. Many local 4H groups will frequent nursing homes and hospitals to provide the same animal-assisted therapy. So get involved. You and our pet can make a big difference in someone else’s life.

Thanks for the pic to this “animal therapist”