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The club room in a suburban
nursing home gradually filled up with elderly women and one old
gent. Some came laboriously into the room on walkers,others used
canes, but most entered slowly on their own steam. They didn't
talk much to each other and one gray haired woman promptly fell
asleep. Despite the best efforts of the group leader to interest
them in a forthcoming outing or a visitor who had dropped in,
most of the people were obviously bored. One more day in the nursing
home; one more hour of their lives running out of the hourglass.
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| One woman
sighed happily as she sank her face into a rabbit's soft fur;
another hugged a little puppy who, like a neglected baby,
was only too happy to be spoiled. |
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And then Vivian arrived with the
animals. She brought two cute puppies, four furry rabbits and
a cage of baby rats. The dogs ran into the room and instantly
the atmosphere changed. There were loud welcomes and huge smiles.
Several women held out their arms to the animals, waiting to receive
one on their laps. The puppies walked around the room, sniffing
someone's shoe, playing with a rubber ball and finally found two
women who wanted to stroke their heads. Vivian distributed the
rabbits to several waiting members. Two women who were approached
rejected the animals and seemed even afraid of them, but giggled
nervously at their own reaction. Even those who didn't hold a
rabbit, dog or baby rat on their finger, however, were fascinated
by the antics of the animals and followed every move.
The room had suddenly come alive.
Everyone had some advice to give or a story to relate from their
own past experience with animals. They made jokes and pointed
out where "those critters" had gone. The participants
observed excitedly as the animals jumped off the elderly people's
laps, lapped up water, or ate a yogurt. The lone gentleman was
gently feeding a rat some vegetables. One woman sighed happily
as she sank her face into a rabbit's soft fur; another hugged
a little puppy who, like a neglected baby, was only too happy
to be spoiled. The club was a hub of excitement and activity.
All over the world this scene is
being repeated, not only in senior citizen clubs, but in animal
therapy sessions with autistic children, violent prisoners, mental
home inmates, nursing home patients and wayward teenagers. As
many doctors, social workers and psychologists are learning, working
with non-verbal, dependent creatures has tremendous therapeutic
value Physiotherapists report that patients with paralysis were
more able to move their limbs, and even begin walking, after being
exposed to animals, than those who were not. Improved contact
with severely depressed people has been achieved in psychiatric
wards after cuddly animals were introduced on a weekly basis.
For the elderly, especially those
suffering from social isolation, low self image, poor functioning
and lack of purpose in life, the care and contact with animals
can have tremendous impact, as the opening example indicates.
"Animals give unconditional love and loyalty," explains
Efrat Mayan, who teaches animal therapy in a teachers' seminary.
"Older people are sometimes afraid of rebuffs from others.
That's why they tend to keep to themselves, and seem to be uninterested
in the social world around them. But a pet doesn't judge the person
who gives him to eat or strokes his fur. For an animal, no one
is ugly, or smells bad or has never really accomplished much in
life."
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| But a pet
doesn't judge the person who gives him to eat or strokes his
fur. For an animal, no one is ugly, or smells bad or has never
really accomplished much in life." |
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Moreover, there is a basic human
need which is denied to many older people that pets provide-the
need for touch. The lonely, isolated older person gains a great
deal, from having a living, moving animal on the lap, or sliding
over hisfeet; petting the soft fur of a puppy or rodent; hugging
and kissing a cute, loveable pet, "The
effect of these animals is like magic." says Sam Simmons,
the director of a nursing home. "I've seen old people who
wouldn't come out of their shell, no matter what we tried. Suddenly
take an interest in animals, of all things,and then through the
animals start to interact with the other residents." Simmons
relates the story of a widower who was quite depressed and barely
got out of bed in the morning. "Somehow he began feeding
the birds in our yard. He would put out stale bread which he cut
up into tiny portions, wet them and scatter them on the roof of
our storeroom. He would get up at 5 A.M. in the morning to feed
his birds. He was convinced they were singing their thanks to
him, as they descended on the roof. He never missed a day, and
feeding the birds kept him active for over l5 years."
According to the director, the care
of animals elicits the nurturing urge of many old people. "They
took care of their children, and maybe their grandchildren, and
their own aging parents at different stages in life. They feel
the need to continue feeding, or stroking or caring for someone
even now. There's a real need to give, and be needed in all of
us." Simmons feels that looking after an animal, feeding
and bathing him, and keeping him safe, gives the older person
a purpose in life, a reason to get up in the morning, and a more
positive outlook on life.
For some older people the animals
become a substitute for a lost spouse or child. That's why so
many people living alone take a pet after they are widowed. "It's
easier to make contact with an animal than it is with people,"
says Mayan. An interesting study shows that caring for a pet actually
increases human contact. A research project followed tens of older
people who walked their dogs in Central Park in New York over
a number of months and compared them with others who did not have
a dog. The pet owners had three and four times as many conversations
with other strollers in the park as their control group, some
of which led to actual friendship. A similar result was reported
for those who took children, especially babies, through the park.
Animals can serve as a trigger to
making peace with one's past, an essential element in what the
psychologist Eric Ericson calls, the stage of coming to terms
with one's life. Whereas some older people have fond memories
of animals from their childhood, others have the opposite reaction.
Holocaust survivors who lived in concentration camps often have
traumatic memories of dogs. In animal therapy sessions they may
react negatively, even violently to the presence of even the smallest
puppy.
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| "They took
care of their children, and maybe their grandchildren, and
their own aging parents at different stages in life. They
feel the need to continue feeding, or stroking or caring for
someone even now. There's a real need to give, and be needed
in all of us." |
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However even those who have unhappy
memories of animals can, with time and patience, be brought around.
In a number of meetings with the residents of the nursing home
mentioned above, Vivian sensed that one woman was revolted by
the puppies. Gradually, she was able to tell the therapist how
she had once been attacked by a dog. Verbalizing her fears gave
the woman control over it. With time she was able to touch one
of the puppies and then hold it. She started to stroke the animal,
who waited patiently under her hesitant almost clumsy first attempts.
After a while she was seen to be hugging the puppy close to her
cheek, and there were tears in her eyes. "It takes time,"
declares Efrat Mayan, "but most people do eventually open
up to animals."
It is essential to choose non-aggressive,
pliable animals who will allow a lot of touching, and actually
enjoy the human contact. The range of animals is wide, but furry,
cuddly and young pets seem to be preferred. Many of the animals
used in this type of therapy, show unusual intelligence and sensitivity.
"They often sense which person needs special attention, which
one should be left alone, which one is angry or sad, and will
benefit from a rub," says the therapist. But at the same
time, care must be taken to assure the animals' safety-from aggressive
clients, from over-exposure, from too much or too little food
and drink and from unhygienic conditions.
With so many obvious advantages,
why is this relatively inexpensive type of activity still much
too rare in most gerontological facilities? It turns out that
not only certain residents and members of different frameworks
maintain a negative attitude to animals. Sometimes administrators
and workers are also put off by pets. Some hide their prejudice
behind a concern for cleanliness or health. "Some people
are afraid that animals will bring illnesses or lice," explains
Sam Simmons. Others see the activity as unaesthetic, or a waste
of time. For those who have been convinced of pet therapy's value,
there is nothing more heartwarming than to see the faces of older
people light up, when their clubroom suddenly fills up with the
happy yapping, squeaking, chirping, barking, mewing and murmuring
of various petting animals who are there only to please.
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