How Pet Therapy Helps

It has long been proven that simply holding a cat or stroking a dog will actually lower the blood pressure of most people. What you may not be aware of is there are groups of people around the country who take pets to nursing home patients to help the residents interact and have some form of companionship.

In several cases, nursing home residents who had shunned human contact and were otherwise unresponsive, were found to respond very positively to the pet therapy animals that were brought in by petting, holding and talking to them. Another trend that is starting to occur in some nursing home facilities is for the home to adopt a resident cat or dog that lives in the facility. Most of these pets are absolutely spoiled rotten by the constant attention they receive from the residents.

If you'd like to volunteer your services with your own pet as a therapy pet, generally the nursing homes ask that your pet go through some training to ascertain that he or she is temperamentally suited to be petted and held by multiple people. A quick phone call to a nearby nursing home should let you know if they have a pet therapy program and if so, where your pet can get training nearby.

You will need a sturdy pet carrier to safely transport your cat or dog and a pet car seat is always a good idea if your pet doesn't want to exclusively travel in a carrier. This is a wonderful way to give back to the community and also give your dog or cat a chance to help others just by being their own sweet selves.

Many nursing home residents have no family and receive no visitors. A therapy pet is a very welcome visitor to many residents. Get involved in your community with your pet and see if your furry companion has the special qualities to be a therapy pet.
 by www.pawshop.com - Your pet gift headquarters