Why We Like Pet Therapy by Brandy and Val
OK, so mom in a previous post talked about pet therapy programs and what they are, but, from the pet’s point of view, why do we like doing it?
We love going to “Read to Rover” programs in libraries because kids come in to read to us. We love having them around and it’s like they’re talking only to us the whole time. For a whole hour, we get undivided attention while we basically do nothing. Then, at the end of every 15 minute reading session we usually GET A TREAT! That makes 4 an hour! The most stressful thing we have to do is wag our tails when we say “hi” and “bye” to the kids. Almost all the kids hug us or scratch our bellies. How great is that?
When we go to school programs, though, we do have to work and think a whole lot more. The programs are enjoyable but in a different way. We work with autistic children and lots of times, they don’t talk at all and we have to figure out a way to get them to show they like us. Maybe they are afraid of us or maybe they really love us but just don’t know how to show it yet. So, we have to approach each child carefully until we are sure they relate to us in a positive way. After all, we don’t want to scare them and we don’t want them pulling our ears or tails. We have been very lucky so far. We have more friends than not and a few of the kids who were afraid of us at the start, now touch us a little bit and that makes us feel good. During these programs, we get brushed and fed carrots and usually we play a few games that help the kids identify colors or numbers or words. It’s really great when we hear the kids laugh or when they call our names and want us to come over. We hope that our working with them will help their lives in other situations and make them happier. They make new friends and so do we.
Tags: AAT, animal assisted therapy, autism, autism in children, pet therapy, pet therapy dogs, pet therapy programs
