Case Study: Animal Assisted Therapy

Have you ever seen the ASPCA commercials where they show pictures of abused and neglected animals while the Sarah McLachlan song “In the Arms of an Angel” plays in the background? It is heart wrenching to watch and I always want to help those poor, defenseless animals. I took this opportunity to volunteer at the Town and Country Animal Shelter; a non-profit, no-kill shelter run entirely by volunteers serving eastern Nebraska and beyond. They are dedicated to providing a safe and caring living facility for pets in need until a loving home can be found, as well as helpful information for those wishing to rehome or adopt an animal. I chose this organization because they are a no kill shelter and they take in animals of all different sorts.

Have you ever been watching tv and the ASPCA commercial comes on, you know the one that has the song “Arms of an Angle.” The commercial makes you feel super sad for the poor animals that have been abused and victimized because of cruel behavior. They ask you to donate money to help these animals recover. What if when these animals do recover they were turned into Service animals. This is a matter of great concern in our community because we could help get most, if not all the animals adopted into a loving home. In order to understand the issue more completely, I looked at turning shelter animals into service animals. Other members of my Group project are looking at TNR/Euthanasia, Physiological aspects of owning a shelter animal, and Worldwide

    Thirty years ago, Best Friend Animal Sanctuary was founded when a group of people had a vision to create a sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals. The main co-founders include: Francis Battista, Judah Battista, Silva Battista, Gregory Castle, Gabriel DePeyer, Jana DePeyer, Steven Hirano, Faith Maloney, Anne Mejia, and Cyrus Mejia.  With very little money and no master plan, they set out to create something very ambitious.  One of their major goals was to create a no-kill animal sanctuary, but unfortunately they didn’t have much of a voice until their sanctuary grew larger.  They didn’t want to become famous or wealthy, but do the right thing for creatures who could not speak or act for themselves.  To take the next step, in 1984, the founders made a promise to one another and the animals they cares for, that they would build a sanctuary in Southern Utah.  Their mission was to bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets.  They would dedicate their lives to housing and finding homes for unwanted pets while spreading

I will make sure that the animals and the clients get the kind of care

The North Shore Animal League will first discuss animal rights and how animal abuse and homelessness is at an all-time high today among animals. There will also be various pictures and statistics shown to offer the audience insight on which dog and cat breeds are the most abused and homeless. For example, due to their small size and temperament with people Chihuahuas are among one of the most abused and homeless dog breeds. The organization will then discuss their plan to remedy the issue of animal abuse and homelessness by opening up animal shelters in urban areas in Staten Island and Brooklyn to lower animal abuse and homelessness. These shelters will provide the animal’s food, water, and medicine, which are the main necessities for them to survive. By opening these new shelters, it will ensure the animal’s safety and well-being until people are ready to adopt and bring them home.

Animal lives are on the line and human action is the key to their survival. According to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, also known as the ASPCA, “Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year, of those 1.5 million will be euthanized” (ASPCA.org). The main goals of the website are to bring awareness to animal welfare concerns, offer solutions to those concerns, and to gain public support for the organization. The website is effective because it is visually appealing, educational, and inspirational.

North Florida Animal Hospital is a veterinary hospital located in Tallahassee, Florida. This practice was established in 1951 by Dr. Robert E. Lee. He had run this hospital until his death in 1988. Dr. George worked in the North Florida Animal Hospital upon his graduation in 1988 and purchased this practice at that time. Their veterinary services include immunization and wellness, dental care, digital radiology, internal medicine, surgery, pharmacy, and more. North Florida Animal Hospital is AHHA Accredited, The Standard of Veterinary Excellence.

Animal-based therapy provides many benefits for individuals with a disability. When assisting individuals with disabilities it is important to consider all options that will help them achieve the most success in life. Deciding which therapies to use is often difficult and should be decided on by the individual, their doctors, therapist, and family. Any drawbacks will need to be weighed against the advantages to ensure the course of treatment will be effective and appropriate for the individual. Revisions may need to be considered for the patient along the treatment path. Of the many types of therapies available, it is important to look at the benefits of animal assisted therapy. Individuals with disabilities who are routinely engaged in companion animal therapy develop a greater range of social skills than those who are not involved in any form of therapeutic animal-based therapy.

This can result in certain malpractices” (7). Hens agrees therapy dogs may help those feeling emotionally unstable, but at the same time argues that these dogs experience the same hardships during treatments.

At “Save The Paw,” their mission is to support and to provide for suffering animals who need guidance and who are left abandon. They need to be taken care of respectively and the highly skilled and trained workers/employees help rescue animals. The charity wants more people (especially teenagers, our future) to grow in this helping environment, so, we offer opportunities to anyone to help contribute to this loving program. We’re all a big family, making drastic positive changes to putting animal cruelty to an end.

Jodi Polanski is the founder and executive director. There is Michelle Lewis, who is the director of operations, Chris Harris, who is the program manager, and Joni Loyd, who is the Medical Coordinator. There are many other staff member and board members, and they are all part-time. There is a handfull staff and board members, but most of the community is made up of just ordinary people with a passion for animals. There are a couple thousand volunteers at L.O.H. They volunteer at L.O.H. and play with the cats and dogs, re-plenish their food, and clean the cats’ litterboxes. Other people donate items such as food, litter, toys, and collars for the

With limited empirical research supporting the use and effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy, it is reasonable to suggest that the costs of implementing AAT into occupational therapy are not worth the benefits. Occupational therapy modalities are already effective at treating patients with many different disabilities and/or disorders—integrating a new type of therapy into occupational therapy is less convenient and more expensive than leaving an already effective therapy as is.

According to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), about one in every 68 children is identified as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a developmental disorder that is characterized by difficulties in communication, social interactions, and behaviors. Though many are aware of the social symptoms of ASD, the DSM-V added the symptom of “hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory stimuli or unusual interest in the sensory aspects of the environment, for example, apparent indifference to pain/temperature [or] adverse response to specific sounds or textures” (Fuentes et al. 2014). Another symptom of ASD that many may be unfamiliar with is the major safety concern of elopement, which is dangerous bolting, that

Charleston Animal Society is involved with non-profit organizations that are working to make our world a better place. Whether it is working with children, the elderly, hurting bodies, hurting souls, or the environment, non-profit volunteers, workers, and organizations fight for justice, equality, and hope. In this case Charleston Animal Society works to fulfill its mission by caring for pet parents and pets, providing positive outcomes for at-risk animals, and serving all victims of animal cruelty. And just like any other important phenomenon, non-profiteering is a socially sustained reality. That is, it is made up of real-life people in real-life situations, working together to create and sustain an organization and hopefully working together to create positive change. Charleston Animal Society utilizes both its website and its television advertisements to encourage people to participate in the organization either by donating or adopting.

They have ways for people to get involved with not only the shelter but also the animals in need of homes. By using adorable pictures of puppies and kittens they get people to pick up the handout. There are stories of how people’s volunteer work has helped them feel a part of the community. This helps people want to get involved and make a difference. Its communication technique is through pictures aided with stories. Doing this helps the reader realize that these experiences happen to real pets and people. The flyer informs the readers of how they can make an impact in these precious animals’ lives. Each story exemplifies how much these animals deserve love and proper treatment. The bulletin reaches people who know little about animals but want to learn and adopt an animal