Mental Health Service Dogs Benefits

“Dogs have a way of finding people who need them, filling an emptiness we don’t even know we have,” stated Thom Jones, an American writer. The world fills itself with problems, often ones people cannot fix. In life, there stand so many needs that often the only ones heard become the ones that scream from the inside out. Dogs, though, find people who need them most. Often, the world underestimates a dog’s healing ability. Lately, research conducted pertaining to dogs and their potential health benefits verifies a healing ability. Dogs often stand as a typical necessity standing beside the white picket fence in the “American Dream,” but now, they step into untouched territory: dogs detect cancer, play a role in aiding the disabled, and help children

Service dogs perform work or perform tasks for the disabled that they otherwise have trouble doing on their own. Mental Health Service Dogs train individually so that they provide help to someone with impairment. They train for neurological disorders, mental illness, developmental disorders, intellectual as well as other disorders such as: anxiety, panic, Post-Traumatic Stress, and acute anxiety disorders. These dogs assist handlers within their home, remind them to take medicines, wake handlers up, provide shields in a crowded situation, orient during a panic or attack, search dwellings, and many other things (“Mental Health Assistance Dogs-Mental”). An Emotional Support Dog provides therapeutic nefits to an individual with a disability or even an elderly person. They give affection and companionship. The patient's needs stand as anything from depressive disorders, Tourette syndrome, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis and many more. These dogs remain extremely important because they relieve feelings of isolation, help with daily structure and habits, self-efficiency, mood improvement, increased optimism, affection, a non-judgmental relationship, and much more (“Mental Health Assistance Dogs-Emotional”). People diagnosed with a specific physical health disability have specifically trained dogs. Allergy Alert Dogs alert their owners to specific allergens in the air that harm their owner's health, and a lot of times the

Many families tend to acquire their pets solely for the child's sake: seeking a teaching opportunity in responsibility. Living with a pet teaches the children social skills they use with other humans. Pets teach children lessons about life such as reproduction, illnesses, and death. They also provide a connection to nature and give the child physical activity, comfort contact, love, loyalty, affection, and experience. Most children play very gentle with pets, but if rough or violent behavior occurs, it points towards emotional disturbance, further helping parents in the long run ("Pets and Children"). Scientists believe that animal-owning children stand more aware unconsciously and have learned non-verbal communication just by owning a pet (Klass). Scientists also hope that children learn empathy and communication skills from animals, which led to questioning of pets with people diagnosed with Autism. Humans and children that have difficulty communicating with others form deep emotional bonds with animals. Pets affect children in many ways: immune systems, social skills, family circumstances, and exercise patterns. A study in 1965 called "Pets, Parasites, and Pediatrics" claimed that 40 frequent infections of children in the United States developed from animals. In the 1980's, doctors who lacked a pet advised the family of an allergic child to give up the animal. Studies today, though, show that early