Prose from the Pals
October 19, 2021As the oldest therapy bunny at Pals for Life (I am ten years old which is 100 in bunny years) I have a unique understanding and perspective on what it means to be a therapy animal. Sure it is great to have the humans pet me and make a fuss over me. But in my columns, I am going to be sharing several of the health benefits that therapy animals provide.
Did you know that petting any of our therapy animals promotes the release of oxytocin, a chemical that increases the feelings of love and happiness in both the animal and human? Oxytocin, the same hormone that bonds mothers to babies has many functions including the stimulation of social bonding, relaxation, trust and stress release.
For those of you that have dogs, gazing lovingly into their eyes will increase the oxytocin level for you both. By building on this bond, training can actually be made easier. It is often why trainers will teach puppies the “Watch Me” command. This way the puppy learns to focus and make eye contact with their owners instead of focusing on so many tempting distractions. Although I wouldn’t recommend staring at strange dogs that might perceive your eye contact as a threat.
So you see petting that therapy animal is not only enjoyable, but healthier for you too!
