Conversely, pets are used in therapy to lessen the pain or loneliness of the sick, the handicapped, and the elderly. Social workers and human psychologists are finding that the unconditional love pets can hold for people and their warm, furry presence can qualify them as effective members of the psychological treatment team.
Both these fields, ‘pets in therapy’ and ‘pets used as a part of therapy’ are recent and are now being rightfully recognized as fulfilling important needs. Some veterinary schools are ahead of others in introducing these areas into the curriculum.
MAKING THE PET A PLEASANT MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
A barking, destructive, begging creature is not a household pet but a household pest. People will often put up with this obnoxious behavior just as they tolerate their own children's bad manners. Such disruption is unnecessary. Psychologists can analyze unacceptable animal behavior and in most cases can rectify it.
The University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine initiated the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society (with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation). The Center, composed of researchers, veterinarians, animal behaviorists, psychologists, an anthropologist, several social workers, and two psychiatrists, seeks better understanding of the interaction between animals and humans.
One of the animal behaviorists, Dr. Victoria Voith, has chosen to concentrate on the behavior of the aggressive, unsociable pet. One client was an owner afraid to return home at night to her belligerent Doberman Pinscher. The cure for the unfriendly Doberman was to show it who was boss. Since the dog had taken the authority role as his own, there was a lot of relearning to do. This re-patterning consisted of teaching the dog to become dependent upon his owner. His mistress taught the dog to sit or lie down before he was fed or walked. Gradually, the animal got the point, and the proper household balance was restored. Another client's dog left a trail of broken furniture behind as he tried to "escape" a thunder and lightning storm.
A New York psychologist, Dr. Donald Tortora, is coordinator of an animal behavior-therapy clinic in Manhattan. One of the animal psychologist's recent cases involved a problem almost universally shared by dog owners: pets rearrange the furniture when left alone for long periods. Translated, "rearranging" means they break, upend or nudge chairs, tables, even sofas, from their normal places.
In most cases, the dog is misbehaving because he or she is upset or even bored at being left alone. One solution is to have the owners go out and return frequently in the first few days of training, so that the stay-at-home learns that he won't be left alone for long.
Because it is the animal's "psychology" to react to something the owner is doing-in this case, returning home more frequently-he will gradually let up on the destruction. The cause of his loneliness is perceived as being lessened, so he doesn't need to carry on. Once this behavior modification has taken place, the owners may again leave for increasingly longer periods because the retraining has been successful.
Charlotte Schwartz, an experienced dog trainer and author of ‘Friend to Friend: Dogs That Help Mankind’, has said that many dogs would be better off and more obedient if they had even small jobs to do. In her experience, the behavior problems of dogs can usually be solved by giving difficult animals a purpose in life.
Many animals-mostly dogs and horses-indeed have a purpose in life: various degrees of therapy and service.
A NEW CAREER: THERAPY-PETS FOR THE SICK, ELDERLY, AND HANDICAPPED
While companion animals may need a man-to-dog talk every so often to correct unattractive habits, they can in turn prove to be of immeasurable help in solving human-based problems.
Consider this: the attention pets give humans is known to help regulate heartbeat, lower blood pressure, and calm nerves. People with animals tend to live longer and are sick less frequently. They are less tense because the animal's bids for attention interrupt stressful activity whether related to home or work. If animals can do this for ordinary, healthy people, think what positive effects they could have on the sick, handicapped, or elderly! Although people have recognized the therapeutic effects of their dogs and cats for centuries, they have only recently applied the knowledge in a scientific way. Thus a new animal career is born.
What is so special about a pet? Dogs in particular give unstintingly of their love while expecting nothing in return. They will pour out affection on demand and provide a soothing kind of companionship. Cats, while often more independent, are also comforting, and their furriness and warmth are a source of pleasure.
Eleanor L. Ryder, a former zoologist and a professor at the School of Social Work of the University of Pennsylvania, works closely with the University's School of Veterinary Medicine. Her most recent interest involves pets and the elderly. These are not the senior citizens of retirement communities and nursing homes but those who are living active, independent lives.
Most thrive on the affection of their pets, Ms. Ryder finds, and are more alert because of them. The social worker is also interested in the types and breeds of pets most suitable for older people.
While Ms. Ryder studies the benefits of pets for the independent elderly, recreational therapists at the Veterans Administration Center in Salem, Virginia, bring companion animals to visit the oldsters who call this facility "home." This very special program of animal visitation is a weekly planned project, and the reaction of the residents to the pets is astonishing. Many, initially slumped in wheelchairs, heads nodding, become alert and animated by the arrival of a gaggle of small animals, brought courtesy of the local SPCA.
The pets dissipate loneliness, encourage alertness, and stimulate under-used minds. As Ms. Susan Jones, head of the pet-people program, says, "The program gives the staff something to do with patients besides taking their temperatures."
Animals also offer the same special qualities to the sick and handicapped. They can be particularly helpful to the seriously ill child. A recent and touching case of an "extended paw" involved a 12-year-old English girl and her mongrel pet, Robbie. Doctors credited the improvement of Alison Hart of Bournemouth, Eng-land, to the large, friendly dog. Alison, often depressed about her debilitating kidney disease, was coaxed out of her gloom by Robbie's insistent but loving demand for her attention.
So-called "pets" can go far beyond therapeutic companionship for the elderly or disabled. They can be the eyes, ears, and even the arms and legs of those who need help.
The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey, is the organization that pioneered guide dogs for the blind, but it is now one of many such helping groups across the United States that train dogs for this purpose. Other groups such as, ‘Hearing Dogs’ and ‘Dogs for the Deaf’ train animals to serve as the ears for the profoundly hearing-impaired. Just as Seeing Eye and other guide dogs help blind people get safely from place to place, specially trained hearing dogs are taught to alert their masters to sounds such as telephones, doorbells, smoke alarms, and oven timers.
A recent, growing trend is the training of "service dogs." These animals help physically handicapped owners by fetching dropped objects, helping pull wheelchairs up ramps, forcing open heavy doors, and doing other tasks that allow their owners to achieve independence despite their handicaps.
All these dedicated groups, from The Seeing Eye to Dogs for the Deaf and Canine Companions for Independence, have several things in common. One, they are nonprofit organizations funded largely through contributions. Two, the fees they charge-if any -pay only a tiny fraction of the cost of training the animals. Three, animal training can take months and cost thousands of dollars.
Many of these organizations train dogs on two levels. One involves adapting the animals for their future work by placing them in the care of foster families for as long as 18 months until they grow mature enough to undergo the long and arduous formal training needed to develop their particular helping skills. (Often, families volunteer as animal foster parents.) The second training level is that employed by the organization before, during, and sometimes after the animal is assigned to its handicapped owner. Such training is thorough, often difficult, but invariably rewarding. It includes training the animal, seeing that the "match" between dog and owner is right for both (this may take a few tries to get the right pairing), training both together for several weeks, and in some cases, following up to see that the bonding process between animal and owner is working as it should. (See Chapter 13, "Careers with Dogs," for more detail about training opportunities.)
Horses, too, serve as therapists for the mentally and physically impaired. When such people, especially children, learn to ride, their self-esteem improves. Some authorities have also found that riding relaxes muscles and improves balance, fine motor skills, and coordination in the handicapped. While most therapeutic riding programs are volunteer-supported, job opportunities exist in the physical therapy area with concentration on horsemanship, and in training horses for therapeutic riding. You will find more information in Chapter 14, "Careers with Horses."
VETERINARY SOCIAL WORKERS HELP PET OWNERS COPE WITH ILLNESS, DEATH
There is yet another guidance area for the pet psychologist or animal social worker, but in this case, the therapy largely involves the pet owner.
Psychologists now realize that owners who must consider euthanasia-the merciful putting-to-sleep-of very old or hopelessly ill animals, or those who have just had their animals euthanized are in an emotional turmoil. These professionals are easing the suffering of the pet owner by acknowledging the pain and loneliness they feel, and by helping them to express their grief and by this process, to recover from it.
Jamie Quackenbush, a veterinary social worker, bridges the two disciplines needed for this work. He is a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Work as well as being a research associate in the University's Veterinary Hospital. Mr. Quackenbush helps people cope with the death of a pet. He knows that, for some, the loss of a beloved animal can trigger abnormal depression-even thoughts of suicide. But for those fortunate enough to talk with him, recovery usually proceeds normally. Quackenbush tells owners referred to him that such depression after a pet's death is normal. He encourages their expressions of grief and responds with consolation. "I understand. Things are quite different for you. You feel anger and pain-but do remember all the happy times you had with your pet."
This emotional aid extends beyond the time of the animal's death. Mr. Quackenbush may talk with the owner several times in the first week, even into the weeks that follow if there is still difficulty in adjusting to the loss.
This veterinary social worker's activities are not limited to "animal bereavement," the formal title for his work. Mr. Quackenbush is also available to help an owner through the anxious periods of a pet's major illness or operation. If an owner is too unstrung to go through hospital formalities when admitting a pet, Jamie Quackenbush will fill out forms, carry the pet's blanket, and do whatever else will make the situation a bit less painful for the owner. He will also explain the testing or operation procedures, and how fully the doctors predict recovery, and help the owner achieve a more positive frame of mind.
Thus, pets are helpers for humans, and in turn, they are helped by caring people. This mutual dependence is as it should be, because each has so much to give the other.
