If you’ve ever gone into a hospital and witnessed the love between a patient and a therapy dog—it is pure happiness. Or, if you’ve ever adopted an animal at a local shelter and brought it home for a child who might suffer from anxiety—you’ll see a connection form. Just what is a therapy animal or what is an emotional support animal?
Stephanie Gibeault, recently featured on BYU Radio, The Lisa Show, on February 3, 2020, tells us that, “…pretty much any domestic animal can be an emotional support animal with a dog or a cat being the most common.”
Furthermore, Gibeault states, “An emotional support animal is used by a person with an emotional health condition and the companionship of that animal is crucial for that person. This person would be helped with challenges that might overwise be hard to overcome.”
A therapy dog is generally used to help others rather than the handler or owner themselves.
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Gibeault said, “We all derive comfort from our animals. If you have the sense that an animal is really helping you cope on a daily basis, you may want to talk to a mental health professional about an emotional support animal.”
From there, these mental health professionals can recommend therapy pets or emotional support pets. Emotional support animals require no training at all whereas therapy animals do.
“Animals have rich, emotional lives. We share so many basic emotions with animals,” Gibeault says. “We get a sense of bonding with them and they understand us. Particularly, an animal like a dog. Petting a dog or cat can release stress hormones in our bodies.”
At Pioneer Elementary School, in Marriott/Slaterville, excited 3rd graders get a special treat every Tuesday. No, this treat isn’t eating ice cream or making snow cones. Rather, this “treat” is actually in the shape of a furry, fluffy animal—a dog! And, everyone LOVES when these dogs come to Pioneer!
Intermountain Therapy Animals is a non-profit organization bringing animal resources to human needs. This non-profit visits Pioneer Elementary each week. According to their website the mission of Intermountain Therapy Animals is: “Enhancing quality of life through the human-animal bond.”
Intermountain Therapy Animals specializes in the support of animal assisting therapy in these particular areas: physical, occupational, speech and psychotherapies along with special education.
In 1999 Intermountain Therapy Animals launched R.E.A.D. or, Reading Education Assistance Dogs program, as the first comprehensive literacy program built around the engaging and interesting idea of reading to dogs. Everyone loves them! This program has been growing ever since!
R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owners or handlers as a coordinated team. They choose to go into schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.
Truman, a 3rd grader at Pioneer, likes to read to the dogs because “they are fluffy.” He says his favorite dogs to read to are “Darby,” a goldendoodle and “Annie” also a goldendoodle, an affiliate of PET PARTNERS.
This particular program teaches children to love books and reading. If you’d like to reach out to them you may do so at www.therapyanimals.org or you can email them directly at info@therapyanimals.org
Whether you are looking to be part of a non-profit and volunteer time with your own therapy dog or you want to have an emotional support animal for you or someone you love—please look into the information listed above or talk to your mental health professional.
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