Search Results for: blog dementia depression and therapy dogs

Military Dogs Developing PTSD

As all human American troops leave Iraq, one special group continues to deploy: K-9 units. These dogs have a special role in the country, as their noses have proven more effective at finding bombs than any technology employed. The New York Times profiles these military canines. Iraq doesn’t use sniffer dogs nearly as much as the United States, and so far they’re only used for bomb-sniffing, not to locate mines or cadavers or other common jobs for military/law enforcement dogs. Of the 310 American sniffer dogs now currently deployed in Iraq 8 are trained to find narcotics, but the rest … Continue reading →

Service Animals and the Law

All animal assistants are not treated equally by United States law. Service animals are legally defined by Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. By law, they are not considered pets. A service animal is specially trained to assist a person with a disability. Some examples of service animals include (but are not limited to): guide animals for the visually impaired, animals who warn owners of seizures, animals who pull or guide wheelchairs. A person with a disability has a legal right to be accompanied by a service animal in public places — businesses, the workplace, airports, and more. … Continue reading →

Pre-Dementia is on the Rise

A study from the Mayo Clinic looked at a mild type of memory loss that may precede Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers looked at approximately sixteen hundred adults between the ages of seventy and eighty-nine living near the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. All of the study participants had normal mental and memory function when they joined the study; within a year, more than five percent had developed some impairment. Men in the study were twice as likely as women to develop memory impairment. However, women often live longer and therefore have more time to develop memory issues. Researchers called this … Continue reading →

The End of the Personal Pet Therapy Project

It’s with a heavy heart that my first blog back after a lengthy absence is to report that the Personal Pet Therapy Project came to an end on Thursday, July 3 when my mom (a.k.a. Grandma Dorothy to Murphy, Mr. Meow, and Tabby) passed away. The Gift That Proved Significant Since the last month has been pretty chaotic and filled with emotional upheaval, I wasn’t able to chronicle some stuff. Such as, that the little stuffed heart Tabby kept bringing my mom was a most significant gift indeed. My mom’s last oncologist appointment on June 11 proved to be The … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for April 14-20

If the spring in the air has kept you out instead of in more, but you still want to keep up on the happenings in the Pets Blog, fear not. This handy Week in Review will keep you in the loop about Aimee and I wrote about on: Monday, April 14 Aimee covered everything you’d ever want to know about guinea pig cages. Sometimes an inspirational animal story comes along that is just marvelously wonderful. The story of Oscar the naked cockatoo is just such a story. Tuesday, April 15 There is both an art and science to guinea pig … Continue reading →

Dementia, Depression, and Therapy Dogs

Since my mom is now living with us, I’ve been trying to better understand how to negotiate her dementia. One of the things I knew would help would be Murphy, Mr. Meow, and Tabby. That’s how it was that we launched an informal but very personal pet therapy project. Homework Assignments Another thing I’m doing is reading anything and everything I can on the subject. One book I stumbled across at the library was Keeping Busy: A Handbook of Activities for Persons with Dementia. It was the “outcome of a program of activities for persons with dementia, developed at the … Continue reading →

How to Interact with a Service Animal

While food shopping the other day, I ran into three handlers with service dogs-in-training. How do I know they were in training? Each dog was wearing a bright green vest that said they were learning to be service animals. My second clue was that the handlers were running the dogs through their paces — sitting, laying down, and heeling on command. I stopped to watch at a bit of a distance, not wanting to interrupt the lesson. You might encounter a service animal just about anywhere: the mall, the food store, an airport terminal, a restaurant, and more. Do you … Continue reading →

Animals Have Emotions, Too

Some people like to think animals are just animals. They think animals don’t think or feel or have emotions. Oh really? If animals didn’t have emotions, would they take orphaned animals in and nurture them as their own? Even when they’re different species sometimes. Would they cower from thunderstorms or snakes if they didn’t feel fear? Would they mourn the loss of their babies or even their people when they die? Would they show signs of depression? Would they smile when they’re happy? How could they do any of those things if they didn’t have emotions? I get viral emails … Continue reading →

Are We as Therapeutic to Them as They Are to Us?

It’s been a week since Murph’s cast has come off, but he hasn’t quite been the same. In fact, I’d venture to say he’s been a little depressed. His appetite’s still okay, and his ears perk up at the offer of chewie sticks or Scooby Snacks, but he just hasn’t quite been himself. Even with the cast on, he’d been kind of rambunctious. Especially in the last couple of weeks before it came off. It was clear he was feeling better and getting his pep back. He’d go search out one of the many sympathy toys he’d been given, bring … Continue reading →

Rain or Shine, My Pets Are There

This hasn’t been a very easy year for me. In fact, of all my years on this Earth to date, this past one has been the most trying by far. And the most blues-filled. One After the Other It started last summer when we tried to move back to Jacksonville. Thankfully plans changed, but instead of life sailing along unencumbered as I’d hoped, I got sick in November –the same week Wayne moved home and we left to go to Denver for Thanksgiving. Then Wayne got sick, and I had a relapse and fell ill again. Come January and February … Continue reading →