Zootherapy
Dogs as therapy
Guide dogs are well known by the majority of people.
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The process of training a guide dog is long. The puppy will spend its first two months with the mother. Then, it is adopted by a foster family who will enjoy its company until it turns one year old.
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From then on, the formal instruction of the dog begins. The dog is trained to avoid obstacles, to move on the sidewalk, to stop at a crossroad, etc... After six months, if the dog is approved to work as a guide dog, the phase of adaptation to the future owner begins. This is the most complicated stage because it involves instructing the beneficiary in the dog's handling, how to use the harness, how to speak to the dog, how to take care of it, etc...
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The process of training a guide dog is long. The puppy will spend its first two months with the mother. Then, it is adopted by a foster family who will enjoy its company until it turns one year old. From then on, the formal instruction of the dog begins. The dog is trained to avoid obstacles, to move on the sidewalk, to stop at a crossroad, etc... After six months, if the dog is approved to work as a guide dog, the phase of adaptation to the future owner begins. This is the most complicated stage because it involves instructing the beneficiary in the dog's handling, how to use the harness, how to speak to the dog, how to take care of it, etc...
Cats as therapy
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There have been enough studies to affirm that having a cat is beneficial for health. Friendly contact with felines reduces the stress of the owners so they feel relaxed and calm. It has also been verified that people with psychological problems improve their well-being by having the company of a cat. In the United States, an investigation confirmed that people with heart problems who owned a cat progressed faster towards recovery.
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Horses as therapy
Horses are also of great help for people with problems. To illustrate this, there was a case of a young girl whose passion for these animals was remarkable. One unfortunate day, she suffered a sudden traffic accident and became paraplegic. For a long time, she refused to ride her favorite mare until one day when, with the help and encouragement of a relative, she decided to ride it again.
To her surprise, she found that her mare, who she could no longer guide with her legs because of her paralysis, allowed her to direct it by voice.
But if any other person rode this mare, they had to guide her in the regular way which is, using the legs, because it would not obey their voice commands. Examples like this show the exquisite sensibility and intelligence that some animals possess. In cases like this, they significantly contribute to helping people with problems recover their desire to live.
Animals provoke diverse reactions in human beings, most of them positive. They are graceful, tender, and useful and some of them provide excellent company for humans.
Although this is not new, because all of us know the effect that a good pet can have on a person and his family, many years ago, it was discovered that some animals possess a marvelous power to facilitate the rehabilitation of many people, achieving results that would not have been achieved by other medical means.
Zoo-therapy, therefore, is a technique that involves animals in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of human pathologies, both physical and psychological, as well as in the learning and adaptation of physically challenged boys and girls.
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In these therapies, the animals are able to break a fixed frame of behavior, very closed, that prevents communication and confines them in their own world. The animals arouse the interest of the child to interact with them and, subsequently, they learn to recover other skills and abilities through school and family.
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These techniques are also used with adults, sick persons, or people with high levels of stress or low motivation, mainly due to being engaged in dedicated, routine work that does not provide satisfaction to them.
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Animal assisted therapy, among other things, produces
1. Company, which drives off feelings of loneliness and despair.
2. Responsibility, by having "someone" to take care of, and something to do, in order to accomplish a goal.
3. Allows the development of verbal and non verbal communication such as: facial movements and expressions, smiles, glances, modifications of posture, orientation, sense of distance, body contact allowances, gestures, etc.
4. Stimulates physical exercise.
5. Reduces anxiety.
6. Improves cardiovascular health.
7. Facilitates muscle relaxation.
8. Develops multi-sensorial stimulation.
9. Provides a sense of usefulness.
Additionally, animals are capable of modifying therapeutic conditions and facilitating communication between the therapist and the child, even when the person is completely reserved and does not have the ability to relate to their environment, appropriately.
