Therapy Animals: Forever Mentally-Stabilizing Family

By Meredyth Staunch on March 3, 2017

As a former pet owner, I would be lying to you if I said my yellow lab Apollo was not part of the family — his tail never ceasing to wag, knocking everything from papers or even mugs off our ottoman, ears flung back with his warm brown eyes captivated by “the world’s greatest toy” in my hand (a stick), or his tender, slobbery tongue engulfing the tears on my face.

Though a canine, Apollo exhibited more human characteristics in his 10 years of life than a majority of mankind portrays in its average 80 years: he danced with my dad to Pharrell Williams’s song “Happy,” clearly encasing the adjective in its purest form; he would “talk back” when we put him in time-out for running across the street to the demise of a crotchety lady, who had the misconstrued assumption that all “big dogs” were vicious; and his favorite time of the day was evening when he dashed outside to the grill, waiting for a special chicken or salmon treat.

It’s amazing how animals have such a large impact in our lives — I do not intend to get all sappy with you or persuade you to purchase a dog, or even a cat, especially if the notion is not financially supported or your experience with an animal was not as uplifting as mine. I have been bitten by a dog (not Apollo). Our family has run into monetary complications when he was sick with cancer and had a relapse three years later. As I am curled up with my blanket, reminiscing all those goofy moments with him, I cannot squelch the tears trickling down my face — Apollo meant the world to me. He was there when a family member perished, through brutal disagreements, and during medical emergencies.

You can say my boyfriend and I have been on the “pet-train” for at least a couple of months now — from visiting shelters to obliterating our previous obligations when we eyed a dog on campus or out for its daily stroll through the neighborhood. We have even adopted the routine of locating videos and photographs of animals on Imgur and Twitter day in and day out. A little obsessive? Probably. However, I fully accept joy in wasting some time on social media, fantasizing about owning the cute Huskie pup or German Shepherd.

Image by Marvin Kuo via flickr.com

Often, college students are advised to bypass purchasing a dog or cat. We all are accountable to achieving above-average grades while participating in extra-curricular activities — throw in an internship and possibly a job, and the idea of caring for an animal sounds daunting. There’s the training and possible house clean-up which accompanies the potty accidents; vaccinations and regular check-ups are greatly encouraged too, if not already required. What if you are on a traveling club or varsity team and are mandated to attend games off-campus? Who will take care of your furry friend and give it all the TLC required?

With these circumstances coming to the forefront of the conversation, I will advise you to get a pet for the right reason — don’t just “own” the animal, love it; care for it; treat it like family because it essentially is a little baby brother or sister.

The joy one accumulates from the relationship is immeasurable as the American Psychiatric Association conducted tests, elucidating the benefits of reduced anxiety, enhanced self-esteem, and decreased behavioral problems accompanying ownership of it. This being acknowledged, I would personally make the effort to register the dog or cat as a therapy animal.

Most, if not all, have heard the phrase “college is the best four years of your life, which you never want to repeat again.” First off, this phrase is very cliché. Second, college is incredibly challenging, with the coursework required, all-nighters regretted the next day, and cups on cups of coffee accompanying pulling out your hair when you couldn’t solve what appeared as complicated as “what is the meaning of life” built into an essay question.

There have been nights when my roommates were sleeping, and I just wished I had a body awake with me at 3 a.m. The positive attributes of therapy dogs and cats were mentioned previously, but I cannot stress enough the mental health benefits, especially when days shorten during the winter and the coursework piles up during finals.

Many colleges invite therapy dogs on campus during large testing weeks to alleviate the students’ stress — coincidence much? I think not. Nearly half-asleep in the library, brain exploding with jumbled words that make little-to-no sense, petting a dog helps to suppress a great deal of stress, rejuvenating the drained brain.

I would like to caution you that service dogs are vastly disparate than that which are therapy: while service dogs have rights to escort a person in any public facility, therapy animals are not protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, hotels, some restaurants, and college campuses do recognize the significance and role these animals play in preserving the mental health of people — emotional support is not always evident amongst human-to-human interaction, but animals are unconditional. They give and give, accepting little in return except affection.

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