“To wish to be well is a part of becoming well.”
Seneca
Dog Therapy Service in Newark
For generations dogs have been used to offer love, warmth and companionship to humans. The idea of dog assisted therapy was pioneered by Florence Nightingale where patients in a psychiatric hospital were relieved from anxiety when spending time with animals.
Sigmund Freud also used his dog to communicate with his patients. Freud found that his patients felt more at ease and comfortable talking with his dog which increased comfort and trust in talking to him. Dogs in therapy has been reported to help many psychological and emotional health issues such as anxiety, depression, stress and social skills. Research undertaken in 2001 by scientists found that people with high blood pressure could better control their physiological health during times of stress if they owned a pet. Being around, and stroking pets can help reduce the bodies production of cortisol the stress hormone.