Pets make people happy.
It’s been proven by science that owning or having regular visits with pets can have positive impacts on people physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Physical benefits have included lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and reducing overall stress.
Emotional benefits of interacting with dogs have included reducing anxiety and depression and decreasing loneliness through the social interaction with the pets and their human companions.
Millie and Lilah come to Sharing the Caring, our adult day care program, frequently to visit the clients, who look forward to seeing the dogs.
For some of our clients these visits stir up memories of their own animals and they enjoy sharing stories of their pets. The dogs bring out their nurturing side and give our clients the opportunity to be loving and affectionate by petting the dogs, even if only for just a few minutes.
These interactions have a lasting positive effect on their mood for the rest of the day.
If you have a therapy dog or are associated with a group that provides therapy visits, please contact Mahpareh at 610.258.6271, ext. 226 We’d love to add to our family of animal friends!
-By Yvonne Toth, Sharing the Caring program
