By David Marks
People with pets are widely seen as taking care of their animals. But it’s increasingly the other way around—with pets playing a key role in reducing adults’ stress levels and increasing their happiness.
A growing number of scientific studies have found that pet therapy, particularly with dogs, offers a range of morale boosts and health benefits.
Canines’ presence, particularly with senior citizens, has been shown to lower heart rate and reduce stress. Petting or playing with animals can cause endorphins—chemicals and hormones—to be released by the brain like they are during pleasurable activities such as eating a tasty meal or playing basketball or another sport the person enjoys.
Pet therapy is particularly welcome in dog-crazy Montgomery County. The county, Maryland’s most populous, has seven dog parks, five operated by Montgomery Parks, and one each operated by the cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg. And there are miles of open spaces in trails along the Potomac River and Montgomery’s many leafy neighborhoods.
State law offers certain protections for what it calls emotional support animals to go places they might not otherwise be allowed, such as public transportation. A person must have a prescription or notice stating their need for one from a licensed psychologist, therapist or psychiatrist. Policies, though, are not as extensive as they are for service animals—dogs individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
Most of the time, though, it’s not that complicated to bring a dog out in public for pet therapy. There’s no paperwork involved for most places pet therapy dogs go.
Just the presence of a dog offers many the motivation to get up, move and exercise. Pet therapy also offers psychological benefits. There’s no judgment coming from the dog.
Unlike often finicky people — children and adults in their own ways — canines happily accept a human companion for who they are. This blanket acceptance can help the person, dog at their side, walk or run further than they might otherwise.
A dog can even play a form of therapist, helpful to stressed-out people who need to vent and aren’t looking for complicated responses from a mental health professional. Just spilling their troubles is enough. After all, they can be assured the dog won’t tell anyone their secrets.
That is why dogs used in pet therapy are particularly common at seniors’ homes.
“Older adults living at home by themselves can get lonely, sad, bored or angry,” notes Bethesda-based Assisting Hands Home Care, on its website.
“If you have a pet, you may understand how much better that furry bundle of joy can make you feel when you’re having a bad day. They can have the same effect on seniors living at home alone,” notes the facility, which offers services for 24-hour care, hourly home care, overnight home care and other situations.
Yet not everyone at a senior facility, no matter how much they love having dogs around, is in a position to take care of them full-time. It’s enough of a challenging task for people of any age. That’s where Pets on Wheels comes in. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, as the name suggests, “brings friendly therapy pet visits to people across Maryland,” notes the group’s website. Pets On Wheels teams “log more than 175,000 touches with people at nearly 400 facilities and special events in an average year.”
Other traveling pet therapy outfits focus particularly on people facing traumatic life experiences.
That’s a focus of National Capital Therapy Dogs, Inc., based in Highland, Maryland, in Howard County, a short drive from the Montgomery County line. NCTD is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that provides therapy services to “medical and psychiatric patients,
stroke and trauma clients, residents in facilities for the elderly, palliative care patients, victims of domestic violence, homeless families and troubled teenagers,” says the organization’s website.
Of course, this being the Washington, D.C., metro area, there are therapy pet visits targeted at employees in the main industry of what’s effectively a company town.
People. Animals. Love. visits “bring joy to government workers in Washington, D.C.,” says the website of the District-based group, which serves the nation’s capital, and in Maryland, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
“PAL dog-handler teams help to de-stress and sustain our federal workforce, from U.S. Capitol Police officers to staff at the State Department, USAID and the Senate,” PAL adds about its services.
Such pet therapy — through a visit or spurred by a dog owner — may be just the tonic needed to quell the political divisions so prevalent now in the Washington area since dog owners are just as likely to come from either side of the political spectrum.
On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan trio of lawmakers recently launched the Congressional Dog Lovers’ Caucus.
“The CDLC will serve as an informal, bipartisan group of Members and staff dedicated to their shared love of dogs for the companionship, friendship, family, and health benefits that they provide,” said a May 2 news release by Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), who founded the group with Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Susan Wild (D-Pa.). “In the coming months, the CDLD will aim to hold events on Capitol Hill for Members and staff.”
Montgomery County is a short drive from Capitol Hill and could easily be a source of therapy pets that will visit the lawmakers’ workplace.
