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Our pets give us healthy dose of love
September 27, 2007
I'm continually amazed at the strength our pets give us.
They offer us more than just being there. They share our living rooms,
our couches and even our beds in some cases, and they contribute
positively to our mental and physical health.
It reminds me of a poem a friend of mine, Charlie Smith, wrote a few
years ago in tribute to his dog that passed away. He shared his dog's
unconditional acceptance of him. "Next time I feel weird about me,"
Charlie wrote, "I can borrow her eyes."
The Visiting Pet Program is another wonderful testament of just how
powerful and healing our pets can be. As the only animal-assisted
activity/therapy program in the New Orleans area, the program brings a
variety of mix-breed and pedigreed dogs and cats, as well as guinea pigs
and rabbits, into nursing homes, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities
and special facilities for children.
What makes this program so successful is volunteers like you and me who
have been trained in the skills of using their pets as therapy tools and
want to make a difference in the lives of those the program reaches.
It's also great fun for the pets that get to go to "work" to make
someone's day brighter and happier.
Study after study demonstrates the therapeutic benefits of pets.
We've all heard that simply petting them can lower our blood pressure,
but would you be surprised to learn that they may even boost our
survival? A study conducted at a hospital in New York found that heart
patients who owned pets were significantly more likely to be alive a
year after they were discharged from the hospital than those who didn't
own pets.
The presence of a pet was found to give higher boost to the survival
rate than having a spouse or friends.
Some research suggests that the type of personality that is drawn to
having an animal companion is different than the personality of someone
who does not own a pet.
I hold to the theory so beautifully expressed by my friend and poet
Charlie. Quite simply, their nonjudgmental love and affection helps us
feel connected and accepting of ourselves in this large, vast world.
If you'd like to become part of the Visiting Pet Program, a people-only
volunteer orientation will be held on Oct. 6 from 2-4 p.m. at the
Harahan Senior Center, 100 Elodie St. in Harahan. Pre-registration is
required and there is a $10 fee to attend. For information, visit
www.visitingpetprogram.org. To register for the orientation, contact
Joyce Kleinfeldt at (504) 866-2532.
- Gloria
Dauphin
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