This 10-minute film explores Animal-Assisted Therapy with a Canadian case study (Victoria, BC), following Registered Nurse Lisa Markin and her service dog Cajun in a sample rehabilitation therapy session. A brief history of the employment of animals in medical therapies is covered, as well as ground-breaking research on the beneficial neurochemicals released in both species during positive human-canine interactions.

(click full-screen for high-definition)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Banks, Marian R; Banks, William A. 2005. “The effects of group and individual animal-assisted therapy on loneliness in residents of long-term care facilities.” Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 18:4 (396-408).

Beetz, Andrea, Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, Henri Julius and Kurt Kotrschal. 2012. “Psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of human-animal interactions: the possible role of oxytocin,” Frontiers in Psychology, 3(234): 1-16.

Friedmann, Erica et al. 1980. “Animal Companions and One Year Survival of Patients After Discharge from a Coronary Care Unit,” Public Health Reports 95 (1980): 307-312.

Hooker, Shirley D., RN, Linda Holbrook Freeman, RN, Pamela Stewart, RN. 2002. “Pet Therapy Research: A Historical Review,” Holistic Nursing Practice 17(1): 17–23.

Odendaal, JSJ. 2000. “Animal-assisted therapy – Magic or medicine?,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 49: 275-280.

Odendaal, J.S.J. and Meintjes, R.A. 2003. “Neurophysiological Correlates of Affiliative Behaviour between Humans and Dogs,” The Veterinary Journal 165: 296–301.

Olmert, Meg Daley. 2013. Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond. Boston, Massachussetts: Da Capo Press.

Yount, Rick A.; Olmert, Meg D.; Lee, Mary R. 2012. “Service Dog Training Program for Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress in Service Members.” U.S. Army Medical Department Journal. Apr-Jun2012: 63-69.