Pet therapy is a centuries-old treatment approach. The new news is that pet therapy is now being validated via scientific and anecdotal data proving its effectiveness. This article shows that pet therapy is worth considering for the care plan of persons with dementia.

COMPETENCIES IN ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY IN COUNSELING: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ATTITUDES REQUIRED OF COMPETENT ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY PRACTITIONERS by Leslie A. Stewart Existing authors (Reichert, 1998; Watson 2009) have described the unique positive impact of Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling (AAT-C) on the client’s perception of the therapeutic alliance a...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), over 35 million people are hospitalized in the U.S. every year. Many hospitals across the country have incorporated animal programs, such as “animalassisted therapy” (AAT), “animal-assisted activities” (AAA), “animal-assisted interactions or interventions” (AAI), resident animals, or pet visitation to give patients the opportun...

Sacrificing model animals is required for developing effective drugs before being used in human beings. In Japan today, at least 4,210,000 mice and other mammals are sacrificed to a total of 6,140,000 per year for the purpose of medical studies. All the animals treated in Japan, including test animals, are managed under control of "Act on Welfare and Management of Animals". Under the principle ...