Within the Countway library at Harvard Medical School, there is a very special employee. Meet Cooper, a 4-year-old Shih-Tzu who is a registered therapy dog. Cooper comes to the library every Tuesday and Thursday wearing a signature scarf. Cooper has his own very special office, filled with the tools of his trade. Harvard students often come to Cooper to blow off steam and relax. Cooper helps them enjoy themselves through countless games of tug-of-war or simply by snuggling next to them. Therapy animals can be very useful in many different cases. They can help stressed out students like in the example above, but they can also help people with stress disorders, anxiety, and even depression. People with anxiety and stress disorders like PTSD should
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The first therapy dog was a Yorkie named Smokey, who paved the way for future therapy dogs. Smokey was found abandoned in a foxtrot in the New Guinea jungle during WWII. The dog was small and clearly underfed, Corporal William Wynne bought the small dog from the soldier who found her for $6.44 (the price needed for that soldier to rejoin a poker game). For the next two years Smokey and her owner, Corporal Wynne, continued to fight in the South Pacific, But Smokey wasn’t there to fight, her purpose was a much different one. Along with her bravery, Smokey knew a few tricks and would perform at hospitals to boost the morale of injured soldiers. She was the first recorded therapy dog. During the day she would provide entertainment and comfort to injured soldiers and at night she would sleep with Wynne. After the war, Smokey continued her therapy for twelve …show more content…
As previously mentioned, having a therapy dog visit a library at Harvard Medical School greatly reduced the amount of stress on campus. Not only that therapy dogs can help people with stress disorders and trauma. In an academic journal written by Debra Mims and Rhondda Waddell, they explain “Animal therapy is making strides in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For years, animals have been used with great benefit in the treatment of the aged and the terminally ill. Now animal assisted therapy is benefiting sufferers of PTSD. The results of animal assisted therapy in the treatment of PTSD patients have seen significant results. In one study of the effect of dogs with patients, psychologists noted an 82% reduction in symptoms. One particular case noted that interacting with the dog for as little as one week, enabled a patient to decrease the amount of anxiety and sleep medications by half”. Even after one week, a patient was able to reduce their medications in half. This shows the effect a therapy dog can have on someone. Not only can they help, they can replace sometimes addicting
The first therapy dog was a Yorkie named Smokey, who paved the way for future therapy dogs. Smokey was found abandoned in a foxtrot in the New Guinea jungle during WWII. The dog was small and clearly underfed, Corporal William Wynne bought the small dog from the soldier who found her for $6.44 (the price needed for that soldier to rejoin a poker game). For the next two years Smokey and her owner, Corporal Wynne, continued to fight in the South Pacific, But Smokey wasn’t there to fight, her purpose was a much different one. Along with her bravery, Smokey knew a few tricks and would perform at hospitals to boost the morale of injured soldiers. She was the first recorded therapy dog. During the day she would provide entertainment and comfort to injured soldiers and at night she would sleep with Wynne. After the war, Smokey continued her therapy for twelve …show more content…
As previously mentioned, having a therapy dog visit a library at Harvard Medical School greatly reduced the amount of stress on campus. Not only that therapy dogs can help people with stress disorders and trauma. In an academic journal written by Debra Mims and Rhondda Waddell, they explain “Animal therapy is making strides in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For years, animals have been used with great benefit in the treatment of the aged and the terminally ill. Now animal assisted therapy is benefiting sufferers of PTSD. The results of animal assisted therapy in the treatment of PTSD patients have seen significant results. In one study of the effect of dogs with patients, psychologists noted an 82% reduction in symptoms. One particular case noted that interacting with the dog for as little as one week, enabled a patient to decrease the amount of anxiety and sleep medications by half”. Even after one week, a patient was able to reduce their medications in half. This shows the effect a therapy dog can have on someone. Not only can they help, they can replace sometimes addicting