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Animal-Assisted Therapy, better known as pet therapy is a type of therapy that involves a specific animal and is designed to improve the physical, social, emotional and cognitive functioning of the patient, as well as provide educational and motivational effectiveness. Although controversial and disputed by the scientific community, in recent years pet therapy has become more and more popular. Here are 5 animals frequently used in animal-assisted therapy.

Dogs

Therapy with dogs is commonly agreed to have been established by Elaine Smith, an American who worked as a registered nurse for a time in England. She noticed how well her patients interacted with a Golden Retriever that visited the hospital and when she returned to the US in 1976 she started a program for training dogs to visit institutions.

Man’s best friend is by far the most common animal used in pet therapy. Therapy dogs can be found in hospital, nursing homes, children's homes, rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, elder care centers and working with people with learning difficulties.

Therapy dogs are not required to be of a specific breed, but they are trained to respond to the patients needs. They can listen to children while they read them books, play simply structured games, do tricks or simply stay with the patient. Dogs are mainly used to relieve depression and anxiety, calm and motivate hospital patients, increase physical activity and lower blood pressure.

Dolphins

Highly controversial, described by some as a dangerous fad, disputed by the scientific community and praised by others, dolphin therapy is becoming an increasingly popular choice for psychological problems and developmental disabilities.

The majority of studies have concluded that there is no compelling scientific evidence that dolphin assisted therapy is a legitimate therapy and only helps with a fleeting mood improvement.

Dolphin therapy is mainly used for patients suffering from neurological disorders like chronic fatigue syndrome, enuresis, phobias, depression, neurosthenia, infantile autism syndrome and cerebral palsy.

Cats

Cats have been associated with humans for thousand of years and are the most popular pet in the world. Cats are mainly used in nursing homes to keep company to the elderly who have physical ailments such as strokes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis and grooming the cats is great therapy for people with muscle conditions.

Short hair cats have been used in the past but more recently long haired cats are being used, like Persians cats, very well suited in animal assisted therapy because of their calm nature and unconditional love.

Cats are also thought to alleviate negative moods; they can reduce blood pressure and dispel feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Therapy cats are especially beneficial to Alzheimer patients, by stimulating both memory and forgotten emotions. Cats are also put to work with children and teens in mental health facilities to encourage children to learn responsibility and hygiene.

Horses

Horses have been domesticated around 4000 BC and these magnificent animals are the first ones to have been used in animal assisted therapy. Horse assisted therapy has physical, psychological, educational and social benefits. Ponies, miniature horses and calm, even tempered and well trained horses are used for therapy.

Therapeutic horseback riding is an Equine Assisted Activity where specific riding skills are taught and has been used to help autistic children and people with orthopedic dysfunctions such as scoliosis. Beneficial to both children and adults it can help confront fears, develop social skills and can teach companionship, friendship, responsibility, leadership, vocational and educational skills.

Hippotherapy is a treatment that uses the multidimensional movement of the horse to provide motor and sensory input and has been used to treat patients with neurological or other disabilities, such as autism, cerebral palsy, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, head injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, behavioral disorders and psychiatric disorders.

Rabbits

Pet rabbits are being used in animal assisted therapy due to their social nature and the fact that they can easily find companionship with humans and even cats and dogs.

To be suited for animal assisted therapy the rabbit needs to have a sense of adventure, no fear of the unknown and be acclimated to different surroundings, sounds, and people.

Rabbits are commonly used in nursing homes to provide companionship, alleviate stress and loneliness and improve general mood. They can also be used in hospitals, with autistic children, violent prisoners, mental home inmates, nursing home patients and wayward teenagers

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I chose 10 of my favorite health quotes by authors who lived in the last 100 years. Some are funny, some witty, others dead serious, but in each of them there is something we can learn from. Enjoy



“The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat”. Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (1 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a theoretical physicist, philosopher and author regarded by many as the greatest mind to have ever lived due to his many contributions to Physics. Over the years his name has become a synonym for genius.




“It's more important to give life to years than to give years to life”. Ana Aslan

Ana Aslan (1 January 1897 - 20 May 1988) was a famous world renowned Romanian Physician and biologist. Her contributions to geriatrics and gerontology as well as her amazing innovations in anti-aging treatments (Gerovital H3 and Aslavital treatments) drew notable personalities to her Geriatric Institute in Bucharest, among them U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Kirk Douglas, Salvador Dali, French President Charles De Gaulle.


“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.” Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American novelist and humorist that William Faulkner once called “the father of American literature. His most famous works are “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.


“Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that, it is its nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself, it will do more than if you paralyze it by encumbering it with remedies.” Leo Tolstoy

Count Lyev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (September 9 1828 – November 20 1910) was a Russian writer regarded as one of the greatest novelists. His most famous works include the novels “War and Peace and Anna Karenina.” His works influenced personalities such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.




“Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

Albert Szent-Györgyi (September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986) was a Hungarian physiologist, credited with discovering vitamin C and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Active within the Hungarian Resistance during World War II, he emigrated in the US in 1947.




“The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.” G.K. Chesterton

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, nicknamed “the prince of paradox”. His most famous works include “The Everlasting Man” and “Orthodoxy”.





“If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want.” Elbert Hubbard

Elbert Green Hubbard (June 19, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American writer, philosopher and artist. A very prolific writer, Hubbard was very well known during his lifetime, his death on the Lusitania ship prompting the publication of “In Memoriam: Elbert and Alice Hubbard”. His most famous work is the essay “A Message to Garcia”.



“Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.” Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor, 1977

Susan Sontag (January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American author. Although surrounded by controversy and accused of plagiarism she found great success with her essays.



“In minds crammed with thoughts, organs clogged with toxins, and bodies stiffened with neglect, there is just no space for anything else.” Alison Rose Levy

Alison Rose Levy is a New York Times best-selling health writer and journalist. The quote is excerpted from her article "An Ancient Cure for Modern Life," Yoga Journal, Jan/Feb 2002.


“The healthy, the strong individual, is the one who asks for help when he needs it. Whether he has an abscess on his knee or in his soul. ” Rona Barrett

Rona Barrett is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She began appearing in “Good Morning America” in 1975 and has published at least 4 books.

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Cannabis

The major psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). At least 66 other cannabinoids are also present in cannabis, including cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN) and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV).
The first records about the use of marijuana for medical purposes were made during the Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung in 2737 BC. It was also used in India, Persia, Assyria, Greece, Africa, South America, Turkey and Egypt. In Western medicine, cannabis-based treatments peaked in the nineteenth century.

Medical marijuana have several well-documented beneficial effects: amelioration of nausea and vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and AIDS patients, glaucoma treatment, as well as general analgesic effects (pain reliever).
It is believed to also be effective in the treatment of various diseases : Alzheimer's Disease, Anorexia , Arthritis, Cachexia, Cancer, Crohn's Disease, Epilepsy, Migraine, Multiple Sclerosis, Spasticity and Wasting Syndrome.

Marigold (Calendula officinalis)

Calendula officinalis contains flavonol glycosides, triterpene oligoglycosides, oleanane-type triterpene glycosides, saponins, and a sesquiterpene glucoside.
Marigold infusion is used as therapy with cytostatic drugs and radiation, if it is necessary to increase body strength in cancer patients. Other uses include acne, burns, frostbite, hepatitis, dysmenorrhea, eczema, eye care, asthma. It is also used traditionally for abdominal cramps and constipation.

Ointments containing marigold (in case you buy the ointment make sure it contains more than 10% marigold) can help in treating impetigo and eczema.
From calendula flowers can be extracted oil that is used to treat varicose veins, colitis, enteritis, gastroenteritis, liver diseases, psoriasis, dysmenorrhea and sunburn.

Propolis

Propolis is a resinous mixture that honey bees collect and use t as a sealant for small gaps in the hive and protection from microbes and mold. Propolis is sticky and usually brown in color, but it can also be found in green, red, black and white. It has approximately 50 constituents, primarily resins and vegetable balsams (50%), waxes (30%) and essential oils (10%), but it can also contain flonase derivatives, ferulic acid, amino acids, yeasts, resins, prenylated acids. The ingredients of propolis vary from hive to hive, therefore any potential medicinal properties that may be present in one hive's propolis may be absent from another's.


Propolis has antiviral, anti toxic, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and anti fungal properties. Can restore tissues damaged by wounds, cuts, burns and frostbite and it is also used for the relief of various conditions such as viral diseases, ulcers or sore throat.

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

Chamomile flowers contain: essential oils, vitamins B1 and C, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, iron, manganese, calcium, copper, lead, zinc, zirconium, glucides, lipids and acids. Chamomile has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It is one of the most known and used plants for its medicinal properties, especially in Europe. Chamomile has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, analgesic, disinfectant, antibiotic, emollient and healing properties.

Chamomile infusion is ideal for an ulcer, gastritis, abdominal colic, asthma, eczema, wounds, ulcers, burns, cardiovascular conditions, common cold, diarrhea in children hemorrhagic cystitis, hemorrhoids, infantile colic, quality of life in cancer patients, open penile sores, skin inflammation, sleep aid, vaginitis. Is also popular in aromatherapy, whose practitioners believe it to be a calming agent to end stress and aid in sleep.
Chamomile Chamomile is used cosmetically, primarily to make a rinse for blonde hair but also for dry and wrinkled skin (infusion) and irritated and reddened skin.

Donkey's milk

It is well known since antiquity that Cleopatra used to bathe in donkey’s milk to keep her beauty and skin elasticity. Today, asses’ milk is used in the manufacture of soaps, creams, lotions and dietary supplements.
Nutritionists describe donkey milk as having a lower content of fat than cow milk and as being the closest to human milk, it is richer in vitamins, proteins and many other nutritious minerals and compounds.

It is also recommended for whooping cough (pertussis), although not scientifically proven. Because a female donkey gives between 0.2 to 0.3 liters of milk a day, donkey’s milk has a price ranging between 50 and 140 dollars.

Quail eggs

Quail eggs contain vitamins A, B, D3, calcium, zinc, sulfur and potassium (cholesterol levels are about similar to chicken eggs). Quail eggs revitalize the body of any age, regulate and improve the circulatory activity, digestion, respiration and improve reproductive function and are believed to have a positive effect on the lymphatic and immune system and brain.

Especially in the Balkans quail eggs are believed to have therapeutic properties including: normalization of heart activity, help cure kidney and liver disease, improving memory, stimulate body growth and development in children.

St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Scientific name Hypericum perforatum, St John’s wort is a herb that has become known especially for treating depression. Used in ancient times, St. John’s wort is a perennial plant that grows in hills, mountains and plains, meadows and forests. It contains anthracene derivatives, volatile oil, flavonozide, caffeic and clorogenic acids, tannin. It is used in folk medicine as anti-inflammatory, antihemoragic, antihemoroidal, anti neuralgic and healing.

Various studies have shown St John's wort’s efficacy in mild to moderate depression. Be careful though, sometimes severe drug interactions can happen, especially with some antidepressants.
St John’s wort is beneficial not only for the nervous system but also for the digestive system (colitis, biliary dyskinesia, cholelithiasis, dyspeptic syndrome, gastritis, hyper acidity, ulcers). Is indicated to use infusion or tincture. Is a good antiseptic and healing for aphthae, abscesses, various wounds, burns (including solar), allergies, eczema, skin irritation. It also helps relieves itching.