If two hands are better than one, how about four paws?
If two hands are better than one, how about four paws? Such an opening gambit may seem nonsensical, but the psychological, social and functional benefits of canine-human interaction are slowly being acknowledged in the health and social care arena. Across the generations, the therapeutic value of man’s best friend is well attested, with a notable emphasis on the emotional and positive aspects of this interplay. Today, however canine and more generally animal interaction is perceived to yield wider benefits not only for the individual, but potentially for the public purse.
The benefits of ‘animal interaction’ for more vulnerable sectors of the populace has been the subject of academic exploration for over 20 years and pet ownership in particular has been perceived to be important for older people (See McNicholas et al, 2005). The psychological advantages are numerous, including: providing companionship; facilitating social interactions and providing a sense of routine and purpose. Pets can also promote physical activity. Geriatric researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, demonstrated that older people who own pets are more active than those who do not, scoring higher in their ability to carry out normal daily activities.
Furthermore pet therapy has proven to be effective for older people suffering from some forms of dementia. Interaction with the animals has shown to reduce behavioural disturbances like agitation and aggression and inflections of mood like anxiety, apathy and depression (See Colombo et al, 2006). Furthermore it has also been suggested pet therapy can stimulate psychological and mental residual functions like long-term memory (through the evocation of memories related to past pets) and non-verbal and verbal communication.
The introduction of pets in residential care has also proven psychological, emotional and physical benefits, a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 1993 found that pet ownership was largely neglected by policy makers and managers of care facilities, with many older people being forced to give up their much loved pets. Approximately 2.75 million older people currently requiring residential care are pet owners and yet over 60% of care facilities for older people require them to give up their pets. The consequent distress caused by the loss of a pet is evident, with several surveys of care homes reporting older people suffering from depression and grief as a result.
However beyond the associated health benefits, dogs in particular can also provide invaluable functional support for disabled and vulnerable people in their everyday lives’. Assistance dogs have thus not only been shown to enhance the confidence and general social interaction of the owner, but have served to act as social catalysts and facilitators. Indie, a Labrador from Surrey, provides daily support to Wendy Plus from Surrey, who pays for Indie through direct payments. Until recently, Surrey County Council along with other councils refused to recognise dogs as carers. However Surrey Council relented and now Indie is part of Wendy’s official care package, with the estimated potential savings to Surrey Social Services to be as much as £23,000 a year (this includes the £8.50 a week in food and vet bills!)[i].
So if the Government continues to move towards self-directed care in the form of direct payments and individual budgets, will there be a demand for more assistance dogs to offer support and independence to not only disabled people but perhaps older people as well? Assistance dogs can not only carry out and assist with everyday living - their skills include: loading and unloading washing machines, picking up items on command and paying for shopping - but also and critically for older people aid and promote confidence and social interaction. A study of fifty seven recipients of ‘Dogs for the Disabled’ (Lane et al 1998) reported almost all owners, over ninety two percent, experienced substantial improvement in integration as a result of being with their assistance dog. Furthermore owners reported that the increased interactions differed qualitatively from those experienced when not with their dog. Overall over a third felt their social life had developed as a direct result.
Evidently pet therapy, pets in general and assistance dogs are not a panacea for the wider perennial problems experienced by disabled or older people. Nevertheless for certain individuals in certain circumstances their role can be truly transformative and may in the process, even save a few coffers for the public purse…
Sally Marie Bamford