The other day I received an email from a nursing student in New Hampshire. She is currently enrolled in a holistic nursing course. An assignment for her class is to make a presentation on pet therapy. She found Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc. on the internet and wanted to make an appointment to interview me about my work with therapy dogs. We set a date for a phone interview today at 2:00.
She listened intently as I told her about my twenty years of visiting with my certified therapy dogs. She was truly amazed at the power of the human-canine bond as I described many of the magical miracles I have witnessed as my dogs connected with people in need – residents in nursing homes, Alzheimer’s patients, the mentally ill, folks on hospice, and patients in hospitals. Folks in all of these setting have been comforted by sweet, friendly, gentle therapy dogs. Seeing, feeling, and talking to these dogs often makes an incredible difference in the lives of those who need it most.
I enjoyed talking with this young student and was happy to hear that she, herself, has two dogs she hopes to train as therapy dogs. It doesn’t surprise me that a nursing program has a therapy dog component. Now that research has shown that dogs do, indeed, have a therapeutic effect on people, animal assisted therapy has become an accepted form of treatment in both healthcare and educational settings.