Mental Illness Service Dogs Essay

Humans Need Dogs Most people know that pets are good companions, but they can also be therapists, teachers, and healers. “Sixty-two percent of American households include pets,” said the Humane Society of United States (Casciotti & Zuckerman, 2016). When people hear about dogs helping humans, one of the first things that

The National Service Animal Registry defines an emotional support animal as, “ a person's pet that has been prescribed by a person's licensed therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist,”they state that “The animal is part of the treatment program for this person and is designed to bring comfort and minimize the negative

How Service Dogs Make a Positive Impact It is misunderstood that service dogs are only for the blind but this is not true. Service dogs assist people with many types of disabilities. According to Dr. Demling, Certified Behaviorist at Pet Wellness Academy, dogs also provide “Unconditional love. A 100% acceptance without

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence I. Get Attention: Dogs will protect you and they can also provide comfort and support in forms of affection and companionship for an individual suffering from various mental and emotional conditions.

Service dogs are a type of dogs that are specially trained to do specific responsibilities to help people who have disabilities, such as people with visual impairment. The dog’s role in this case is to guide them around the obstacles, stop at step ladders, and help them cross the street. Also, service dogs trained to help people with hearing impairment. They trained in a way to alert their partners to sounds and lead them to the source of it. On the other hand, service dogs help people with mental illnesses to take their pills at certain times of the day and carry medical supplies for them.

Resident therapy dogs have been implemented at the library of the Harvard School of Medicine, and these dogs may be checked out just like you would with a book. According to research, interaction with dogs decreases a person’s level of cortisol and increases endorphin levels (Adamle).

This article appeared in a scientifically reviewed, Psychology Central News, in 2010, making this a relatively credible source. Also this article is a fairly recent one, from 2010 and it relates to what the topic is about. Rick Nauert has a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin in information science focused on health care informatics, health administration, health education and health policy and also has over 30 years of experience in clinical, administrative and academic healthcare. I included this article because it addresses how much psychiatric service dogs help military veterans with their PTSD symptoms and help cut down on their medications. In fact, “according to the Army Surgeon General’s special assistant for mental health,

For people with disabilities, performing daily tasks prove to be a challenge. People with severe disabilities are given medication and regular therapy to help them improve their daily lives. For some, however, this is not enough. Service dogs, animals specifically trained to aid their disabled owners in their everyday lives, may be a solution to these people. Service dogs are a common type of professional working dog and have several branches/classifications. Each classification is trained to perform specific tasks and are given different privileges/rights when it comes to public access. A service animal, such as an assistance dog, performs specific tasks or provides aid in another form to their disabled owner while other professional working

As you can see, the benefits are so great there is no harm of getting a dog. Not only will it help with mental and physical health, the dog would bring happiness, and joy into our

Dog owners worldwide enjoy longer lifespans on average, "The ownership of a dog can also lead to increases in physical activity and facilitate the development of social contacts, which may enhance both physiological and psychological human health in a more indirect manner."

Animal Assisted Therapy dates back to the early 18th century. It was used to help the mentally ill patients at the York Retreat in England. They would allow animals to wander the grounds with the patients and it was believed that is was helpful in increasing the socialization of the patients. The first documented use of an animal therapy was when Dr. Boris Levinson accidentally left his dog and a difficult child alone and when he came back the child was calm and talking with the dog. Today animals are being used in many different environments to help assist patients with their daily activities. Over the years, studies have shown that some animal assisted therapy has been more affective on people than the use of a medication.

The overall purpose of this Instructional Design project is to identify how dogs can help to enrich the lives of those who are disabled by subsequently being rescued from destruction. “The instructional design process begins with the identification of a problem or need and determine the appropriate intervention” (Morris, 2013).

It has been recorded that animal assisted therapy programs have included the interaction with domestic, as well as exotic animals. Coetzee, Beukes, and Lynch (2013) conducted a study which involved animal assisted therapy with lions, wild dogs, tigers, mongoose, cheetahs, and ostriches for substance abuse inpatients in South Africa. However, most animal assisted therapy sessions include dogs, or horses. A service dog is trained to do work, care for, for perform tasks for people with physical or mental conditions which inhibits major life activities/functions such as: caring for one’s self, learning, walking, performing manual tasks, speaking, breathing, seeing, and working

Animals are very similar to humans in that they offer constant love and loyalty. For some, animals are something they can depend on in their day to day life. Service animals make simple tasks like walking, seeing and even being emotionally stable eassible. People that are in desperate need of

Pet visits can provide comfort, decrease stress, anxiety and pain, helping hospital experiences more positive among patients, which will have a positive impact on their recovery (Goddard & Gilmer, 2015). According to Moreira et al. (2016), the most observed benefits of pet therapy are reduction in anxiety, stress, loneliness and isolation, relaxation, improve the hospital's environment, interpersonal relationships, and the communication between health professionals and patients. Some of these benefits mentioned by Moreira et al. were also observed in several of the residents who interacted with the therapy dog at the different facilities. When the dog would come into their room or the area they were in, their eyes would not move away from the dog as if a ray of light was entering and most would have such a big smile on their face. Many of these residents suffer from either early to late stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, but even so they would recognize the dog or the day it was knowing it was the day that this particular dog would be there visiting. This is very astonishing, knowing that a simple dog can make such an impact on a person. Some were non-verbal, and when the dog would come to see them, they would speak a few words or make gesture sounds. Bibbo (2013) mentioned that a dog could help facilitate communication