Therapy dogs: Patient’s best friend

How many households have pets?

Did you know that over half of UK households have pets? Data from Improve Veterinary Practice show that around 57% of UK households, which is 16.2 million households. Having a pet brings happiness to the majority of households in the UK which was highlighted during the pandemic when there was an increase in people deciding to have a pet.

This data also revealed that the number of actual pets in the UK stands at a massive 38 million! 5 million of these pets are small pets like hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs.  In terms of larger pets, there are 11 million cats and 12 million dogs meaning dogs are a human's first choice of best furry friend.

Can pets make you feel better when sick?

According to ISHN, pets can improve your overall health. Where children have exposure to pets this can assist in training their immune system and may even positively affect their overall health, creating better health through to adulthood. 

Having a pet can help prevent sickness and promote physical health. Pet owners tend to have fewer illnesses than those who do not own a pet. For example, pet owners do not experience as much depression and are better at managing stress which, in turn, prevents health issues like high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. Pets also help those who are diabetic as they can manage their blood sugar better.

Also, as dogs are active pets, owning one can help with your overall physical health. Dogs need walking and studies have shown that children with dogs carry out more moderate to vigorous activity than children who do not own dogs as pets. Also, adults with dogs spend more time walking than those without amounting to double the walking time. Exercise also helps boost your mental health.

Do pets help you recover faster?

Pets can help you recover faster when you are unwell or in poor health. For example, dogs can help in the rehabilitation process when you have a serious illness or have been in hospital for a long time. Owning a pet dog can also increase your rate of survival after a heart attack and help recovery for someone who has surgery or cancer. Pets can also help you relax your mind and manage your stress as you have company and someone to talk to. They can also increase your appetite which is important when recovering from poor health.

Having a pet could also be a form of holistic therapy after a personal injury as they can help your mental and emotional health. For example, a dog can alleviate stress and trauma which in turn can support your bodily functions in healing.

Can your dog help with physical therapy?

Owning a dog can help with any physical therapy through Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), where animals help humans in medical rehabilitation therapy such as in hospitals. They may actively participate in the task the person is doing as part of their physical therapy, which can make it more enjoyable.  They are considered a clinical tool and included in the patients documents as part of their medical records. A dog can help with a patient's physical therapy by improving their:

• strength
• balance
• mobility
• flexibility
• memory sequencing
• reflex response
• range of motion
• endurance
• gross motor skills

What does a therapy dog do in the UK?

Animal therapy is thought to go back as far as Florence Nightingale in the 1800s when she pioneered Animal Assisted Therapy. Nowadays, a person may pick a therapy dog who will live with them and then the dog will gain their therapy dog certification once they have gone through a temperament assessment. 

A therapy dog in the UK does many things. One important role therapy dogs can play is in the process of rehabilitation. They can do this, for example, by taking part in a person's physical therapy to recover. A therapy dog can also help if you have a disability. It can help a disabled person's independence by helping them carry out everyday activities. Therapy dogs also provide comfort to individuals and relieve stress, such as when they accompany them to places. For example, a therapy dog may accompany a person to:

• school
• a retirement home
• a hospital

Therapy dogs can help many different people with cognitive, physical and mental health difficulties as well as neurodiversity. For example, people who:

• are autistic
• have depression
• suffer from PTSD
• have dementia

Therapy dogs can offer different types of therapy such as animal-assisted therapy. This can help people help people with anxiety. Family therapy dogs, for example, help people in nursing homes with Alzheimer's. Disaster therapy dogs can provide, for example, solace to victims of terrorist attacks. Therapy dogs can even help children in school to read and where they do they are called reading therapy dogs.

How can we help you recover after an accident that wasn't your fault?

If you have suffered a personal injury from an accident that wasn't your fault, a compensation claim can significantly aid your recovery through stress relief, funding for medical treatments and more. Compensation is awarded consisting of general damages, which address the physical injuries endured, and special damages, which cover out-of-pocket expenses and unexpected costs arising from the injury. Compensation could support your recovery by:

• Providing lost income when you are unable to work.
• Covering medical expenses resulting from your injury.
• Reimbursing travel costs for hospital visits and treatments.
• Funding necessary adjustments to your home or vehicle due to your injury.
• Gives a sense of justice and closure, ensuring those responsible for your accident are held accountable.

So let us at National Accident Helpline help you make the personal injury claim you may be due to help recover from an accident that wasn't your fault. Contact us today. You can even use our compensation calculator in advance to check how much you may be able to claim.