1. Running Head: BENEFITS OF PET THERAPY FOR CHILDREN Clark 1
Benefits of Pet Therapy for Children
Imani Clark
Alvernia University

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Benefits of Pet Therapy for Children Clark
Abstract
Hospitals are not usually viewed as a pleasant place for children. When children are hospitalized,
they are at higher risk for depression due to psychological emotions such as loneliness and grief;
therefore, they may not be able to recover as efficiently as they could. A revolutionary idea, that
pets benefit children in hospital settings, has emerged and been deemed successful. In this paper,
pet therapy is shown to provide a supportive environment for hospitalized children by distracting
them from the additional stress that they have psychologically induced.
Key Words: Pet-therapy, animal-assisted therapy, hospitalized children, recovery

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Benefits of Pet Therapy for Children Clark
The idea of using animals as a factor in therapeutic treatments can be traced back as far
as the 1700’s. It was based on the notion that animals give affection and attention, diverting the
focus of the patient’s mind and resultantly relaxing their psychological stresses. In accordance
with Loretta Keller’s article on Dr. Ethan Kross’ neurological research findings, “the brain
doesn't appear to firmly distinguish between physical pain and intense emotional pain”;
emotional pain being the psychologically induced stressors that come along with physical injury
or ill controlled emotions. With this in mind, separate parts of the brain are responsible for the
emotional output in reaction to the distress caused by an outside entity such as illness or injury.
Therefore, the use of animals to relieve patients that have been hospitalized of their physiological
stress will result in a less painful experience and a faster healing process.
Activity and play, allow children to release internal stress caused by psychological
distress. Due to the lack of activity when hospitalized, children may develop anxiety, fears, and
conflicts relating to hospital experiences. Symptoms such as anxiety and fear are the effects that
develop through psychological distress. When one has nothing to focus on other than the
stressors that he or she has mentally generated, then these stressors become prominent focal
points in his or her life. According to a compilation of scientific data gathered by Irene Tracy,
“heightened anxiety and anticipation make the pain experience worse” and this may result in a
slower healing process or a failed attempt to recover. The efficacy of animal-assisted therapy
(AAT) is dependent upon the child’s connection with the animal or pet which he or she has been
introduced. This is directly related to the idea of relieving a portion of the emotional stress in
order to induce a faster healing process. Since the destruction of the brain is magnified, it
prevents it from focusing on producing stress, but the effect is dependent upon the emotional
connection that the patient has with the animal.

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Benefits of Pet Therapy for Children Clark
Therapy and pet-therapy programs are frequently used in pediatric practices and hospitals
throughout the United States. In the article, Play and Pets: The Physical and Emotional Impact
of Child-Life and Pet Therapy on Hospitalized Children, Mary Kaminski conducted research at a
large Midwestern children’s university hospital, where she examined a gathering of 70 children
along with their parents. She selected from the population of inpatients where the mean of the
children averaged at an age of nine years old (Kaminski 2002). The examination included
questions such as: How do patients rate their moods before and after a single session of pet-
therapy; How do parents and caregivers perceive a child’s mood prior to and following child-life
and pet therapy; How does [therapy] affect physiological indicators of stress (Kaminski 2002)?
The survey consisted of two control groups; a group of 40 who participated in the child-life
group therapy and another group of only 30 who participated in the pet-facilitated therapy (PFT).
During the sessions, the children's interactions were recorded on a ten to twenty minute video
and rated immediately after on a seven-point scale of pain and mood. The tapes were then
evaluated by positive affects, negative effects, anxious-fearful affects, neutral affects, and
persistence. A four-item mood rating was completed by the parents or caregivers who
accompanied the child. Results of this particular study proved positive results of the children’s
mood and increased both types of therapy significantly. In the discussion part of the article, the
children were asked what three wishes they could make and it was said, “the majority of
comments (wishes) in the sample were about owning or being with pets, not being sick, and
being able to go home” (Kaminski 2002). As one could tell, offering pet therapy as a means of
providing a child with the much needed distraction and joy in order to assist in overcoming
illness is a revolutionary idea.

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Benefits of Pet Therapy for Children Clark
Not only is pet therapy used in the United States, but it is in the initial phases of
becoming a more prominent method overseas as well. The Mater Children’s Hospital in
Brisbane, Australia became one of the first pediatric hospitals in Australia to initiate animal-
assisted therapy (Moody, 2002). A study of their up and coming dog visitation program was
taken. It consisted of a cross-section survey that was dispensed to the administrators, doctors,
nurses and therapists of the hospital. Before the actual installation of the program, there were
high hopes that animal-assisted therapy would be successful in distracting children from their
illness. This study was done based on the acceptance of animals in a hospital setting and the idea
slowly became more accepted: the acceptance grew as the animals interacted with the children
and proved themselves a reliable resource for therapeutic treatment. Animals seem to improve
the children's social interactions as well and encourage social harmony. The importance of
making health care professionals aware of the possible health benefits that companion animals
can have on patients is to be emphasized in physiological therapeutics. These companions
provide affection, non-judgmental acceptance and companionship, allowing humans to find a
sense of security (Moody, 2002).
Current research on the use of animals in therapeutics, and the successful findings
thereof, broadens the horizon for possibilities in clinical therapeutics. When a child is in an
unfamiliar setting, such as a hospital, a sense of normalcy must be incorporated into the care they
are receiving and that is the idea behind animal assisted therapy. Child-life services provides
hospitalized children with the means to decrease boredom by involving children in more natural
activities. Whereas, the use of therapeutic animals offers more of an emotional distraction
through the companionship that the children bond during contact with their therapeutic pet. This
is the type of interaction that they do not receive on a daily basis during normal hospitalization.

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Benefits of Pet Therapy for Children Clark
In consideration of the neurological findings of emotional pains; contribution to physical
distress and the proof shown through research that animals distract children from their negative
emotions, hospital administrators should confide in well-planned animal visitation programs with
the help of their staff.

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Benefits of Pet Therapy for Children Clark
References
Kaminski, M., Pellino, T., & Wish, J. (2002). Play and pets: The physical and emotional impact
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