Here is an article I wrote in 2005 about the Animal Facilitated Therapy program at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital at which I am the Director of Neuropsychological and Psychological Services.  The original publication was accompanied by a couple dozen photographs of patient interactions with the animals.  People showed such joy spending time with the dogs and their handlers. They were priceless but I cannot seem to find their final resting place on one of my back-up drives.  Perhaps one day I will republish the photos on these pages.   Animal facilitated therapy has immeasurable benefits in psychological well being of rehabilitation patients and others. Lily, a resplendant chocolate lab, finished her decade long job before the coronavirus shut us down – she had a host of age related maladies and her owner was heart broken saying goodbye.  We all still think about Lily and the trusting joy she shared on her rounds. To this day the gift Lily brought our patients helps trigger the critical shift they make from “feeling sick” to feeling well again – hopeful to regain thier independence and go on to life. We have a new silver Labrador who is learning the rules and will be taking her therapy dog test one day soon. The process is wonderful to observe and I notice that as I see patients in any of the rehabilitation units someone usually asks me when will the dog be coming back? Most of us look forward to seeing the special happiness most feel visiting the therapy dog.

Michael Sefton, 2014, Revised 2024

The health benefits of using animals in the context of physical rehabilitation are well known.  Click the link below to be connected with the full article.

http://concussionassessment.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/animal-facilitated-therapy/