Therapy Dogs
STACY-MAE STARTED THE TEDDY BEAR PROJECT: WHAT A GREAT SERVICE DOG!
June 6, 2011 | 
Author This Greater Swiss Mountain dog and her Mom started The Teddy Bear Project. Delivering teddy bears for the elderly and the ill to love. Stacy- Mae and these Teddy Bears bring comfort, warmth, and love to so many people who need it the most. Truly Touching!
Posted in Have YOU Smooched YOUR Pooch Today?!, Inspirational, Therapy Dogs, Videos | 
Tags: elderly, ill | 
1 Comment »
BAXTER, THE BEST THERAPY DOG EVER!
This is the story of Baxter and his gift to bring love and comfort to Elderly people near the end of their life.
Put a couple Kleenex boxes by your side before watching this amazing story!
I hope Baxter touches your soul, like he did mine.
“Petey Hates To Say Good-Bye!”
“Petey”, a Gorgeous Golden Retriever Therapy Dog with Gabriel’s Angels, always stops and stares at his Mom, Connie, as if asking Pleeeeease let me stay with the kids just a little while longer!
Bring Your Dog to Work With You!
Dogs are working as office assistants for helping professionals…
A growing number of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and other therapists are bringing their dogs to work in their private practices. It is here that they help calm patients down, cheer them up, and offer a happy distraction with a wagging tail. It makes sense that dogs are increasingly being used in the helping profession, as more and more research is showing how dogs can ease symptoms of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD and agoraphobia.
The Wall Street journal ran an article on this type of working dog. View it by clicking Here.
Posted in Benefits of Man's Best Friend, Therapy Dogs | Tags: Office dogs, Therapy dogs | No Comments »
Therapy dogs (continued)
Dogs are helping children who have been abused or neglected…
In many terrific programs across the country, therapy dogs are traveling with their human companions to domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, group homes, hospitals, and schools to offer love to a child in need. A pet offers a safe place for a child who has been abused or neglected. Children are able to communicate well with animals. They give unconditional love, providing a security blanket.
Gabriel’s Angels is a great local organization offering this type of support for children across the Phoenix area.
Here’s a pet therapy team for Gabriel’s Angels: Lara Evans, Petey, and Connie Shorr
This video has great information about how they are helping (& you can too!)
Check out their website by clicking click HERE
Therapy Dogs
Guide dogs (also referred to as seeing-eye dogs) are probably the most familiar form of service assistance dogs. References to guide dogs show that our furry friends have been providing aid for people with visual impairment for at least as far back as the mid-16th century! With modern research, medicine, and some creativity, new ways to apply the healing benefits of trained dogs are being discovered and used in programs around the world. Here are a few more fascinating examples of dogs offering help for people.
Dogs are offering support to children with autism…
There are many reports from both parents and clinicians that interacting with animals can offer both physical and emotional benefits to children with autism. Dogs can be trained in calming techniques, helpful in tactile therapies, and can be trained in various forms of behavior disruption.
Click HERE for a cool video.
Dogs are saving the lives of people with diabetes…
Not only did dogs helped in the discovery of insulin, but diabetes service dogs can provide their owners with hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) medical alert. This is essential for diabetes control.
Click HERE for more information.
Dogs are helping to increase physical strength in patients…
Physical therapies and assistance programs commonly incorporate dogs to help regain physical strength, for example, after surgeries, accidents, and strokes.
Check out this video!
Dogs are helping children learn how to read…
Several programs have started and introduced the concept of children reading to dogs. The idea is that the child is calmed by the presence of the dog as well as stimulated by the contact without the pressures of reading to a teacher or a peer. This activity is also used often in dog therapy settings with children as a calming activity.
Not only do children seem to love the experience, several program creators have noted that reading skills, including stuttering, have improved. While not all reading problems can be corrected with a dog’s company it is certainly a matter of interest to parents.
For more information, click HERE
Loving Your Pooch Can Relieve Stress!
Feeling stressed? Turn to your pup for some love and affection!
Too much stress can impact the quality of our lives from health to relationships. The good news? Your dog can help! Research tells us that your pooch can be a helpful ally against a stressful state of mind.
A study out of the University of Pennsylvania has measured what happens physically when a person pets a friendly and familiar dog. They found that the person’s blood pressure lowered, heart rate slowed, breathing became more regular and muscle tension relaxed. A study published recently in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine not only confirmed these effects, but showed changes in blood chemistry demonstrating reduced amounts of stress related hormones.
It seems that like other enjoyable activities, playing with a dog can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine — nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties. As if you needed another reason to love your pooch! Give some affection today…your body will thank you!