The Health Benefits Of A Dog's Visit

The Health Benefits Of A Dog's Visit

Clinical psychologist Boris Levinson of New York's Yeshiva University wrote about pet-oriented child psychotherapy in the 1950s after finding that disturbed and withdrawn children opened up to him when his dog, Jingles, was in the room. Since the 1980s, researchers have documented the benefits that canine visitors bring to children and adults with depression, autism, hyperactivity disorders, heart failure and Alzheimer's disease.

In what experts in the field call "animal-assisted therapy," a pet owner works with a professional therapist to help a patient meet specific goals such as stretching, walking and so on.

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