Therapy Dogs

 

For my blog post this quarter, I have decided to write about therapy dogs and how they help those who need it most. Therapy dogs are dogs that are trained to provide affection and comfort to people in places such as hospitals and nursing homes. There are three basic types of therapy dogs. The first type of therapy dogs are called “Therapeutic Visitation” dogs. These are common household pets whose owners take them to visit different places such as hospitals, nursing homes, detention facilities and rehabilitation facilities. Visitation dogs helps people who are away from their family due to mental or physical illnesses and make them feel loved. These truly special dogs help brighten the day of those who are away from their loved ones. The second type of therapy dogs are called “Animal Assisted Therapy” dogs. Animal Assisted Therapy dogs help improve a patient’s mental, physical, social and emotional state. There are many different settings that they may visit. The most common places where dogs make their appearance are hospitals, nursing homes and therapeutic boarding schools for teens. However, there is a reason why the dogs take an adventure in a place like hospitals. Some are involved with specific therapeutic goals, such as assisting with patients who are working towards gaining motion in some limbs and  increase their motor control by completing an easy task such as basic pet care skills. Finally, the last type of therapy dog is called a “Facility Therapy Dog”. These dogs mainly work in nursing homes. They are often trained to help keep patients with diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease from getting into trouble. These types of dogs usually live at the facility.

 

I think that therapy dogs are so important to the community. They can give someone so much love that they may be missing in their life. These extraordinary dogs help people deal with depression, anxiety, cancer and so much more. They are there to listen, to comfort and to love without judgement. There is a sort of feeling that that is hard find with other people and it helps some open up. There are so many ways that therapy dogs help everyone around them. Depression and anxiety have recently become a big part of lives all across the world. Those with depression try to avoid the outside world because of the fear and stress of what may happen. “Anxiety and depression involve emotional turmoil and negative internal ‘self-talk,’” Dr. Katie Kangas, co-founder of the Pet Wellness Academy, explains. “These thoughts typically spiral into unrealistic negativity and this continues in a vicious cycle.” Kangas goes further into explaining how dogs provide a comforting companionship. Her and her group of colleges discussed whether or not having a dog for depression was a good idea and they come to the conclusion that it would help with so many more ways to help than doctors can even prescribe. It helps them have one focus and one responsibility. “A dog needs to be fed, needs to be walked, and needs to be pet, so on days when a person feels least motivated, a thump of a happy tail motivates a person to get back to living,” Demling says.

Along with an opportunity of responsibility, dogs also give their owners and companions unconditional love. After some studies, it was a unanimous agreement that 100% of the time, a dog does not judge when a person is depressed, anxious, lonely, wearing the same clothes as yesterday and can’t get out of bed. It makes people feel like they have a true friend during their difficulties.

One of the most important things about therapy dogs is that when working with people with depression, anxiety and almost any other disease, they are able to recognize signs of a panic attack or seizure coming. “The mere presence or non-reaction to a stimulus of a trusted companion often calms an attack,” Demling explains. “Dogs can also be trained to use passive methods to block strangers from approaching their handler unexpectedly.”

With someone to always be able to talk to, to be comforted at difficult times and for unconditional love without judgement, I believe that therapy dogs are a necessity in this wonderful world. Just think about how happy it will make someone feel, how they will have comfort that is difficult to find in people, as well as the smile on their face when they find a beautiful animal lying down next to them.

~Juliana

Ebola vs. the Enterovirus: Which Should Scare us more?

Currently in America, two diseases have been taking over the news, and the lives of many people, lately. These diseases are Ebola and the Enterovirus. If you are anyone like me, you try to figure out a way to make sure these illnesses came no where near you, but do you really know what we are running from? They might have blown up in the news, but there is a lot that we need to bring to light about these epidemics in order to fully understand what they are, and which one is the bigger problem.

The definition of Ebola is “an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids by a filovirus ( Ebola virus ), whose normal host species is unknown”. I am positive you don’t understand this, so let me break it down for you by giving you the facts. Lets start at the very beginning. The Ebola virus was first found in 1976 on the banks of the Ebola River and was suspected to have originated in bats. Smaller outbreaks have occurred over the years, but this is the largest yet. Reasons its so deadly is because it shuts down the immune system first, and can kill within a single week. With only a 50% survival rate, it makes sense why people would be so scared. But think about this. When was the last time you came in contact with someones bodily fluids? If your answer is never, then you’re in luck because you can only catch this virus by touching these things. Also, if you are a US reader, your chances of catching this are extremely low, so take a breather. Even the flu kills more than Ebola. Just be careful around those bodily fluids, okay?

The enterovirus however, is a different story. The definition of the enterovirus is “any of a group of RNA viruses (including those causing polio and hepatitis A) that typically occur in the gastrointestinal tract, sometimes spreading to the central nervous system or other parts of the body”. Kinda confusing? Let me explain. This virus was first identified in California in 1962, and hasn’t reappeared until now, meaning less people have developed an immunity to it. In the most mild cases, symptoms mimic those of the common cold including fever, runny nose, muscle aches etc. More serious cases can cause patients to have difficulty breathing and would lead to the patient having to be hospitalized. Some cases have also shown paralysis, but that is not very common. Scared yet? Its about to get worse. This disease not only has the symptoms of the common cold, but spreads like one. That’s right. Getting sneezed or coughed on, or by touching the surface previously touched by an infected patient can all cause a person to catch the virus. Because of this, the majority of hospitalizations have been with children. Nevertheless, teenagers are also at an inclined risk because of weak immune systems. However, as bad as it may seem, the Enterovirus season lasts from mid-May through mid-November, so its havoc has almost come to a close. Just make sure to keep clean, and prep for flu season.

In my opinion, I am more scared of the Enterovirus. This is because the symptoms are much like the common cold, so I feel if I caught this virus, I would probably think I just have a regular cold before I realized much too late that I actually have an extremely deadly disease. Also, because it is spread like a common cold, it seems extremely easy to catch. Plus, because I am a teenager and my immune system is weak, I have an increased risk of having a serious case. Lastly, unlike Ebola, the Enterovirus has made it into the state in which I live. Don’t get me wrong, the Ebola virus is a scary thing to think about, but overall, I think that based on the data I found that the Enterovirus is one I am most afraid of.

~Dagny

Trip to the Hospital

I was playing manhunt with my friends in my neighborhood and I was hiding for a long time, way  back in the woods for probably for about a half an hour. I was covered in leaves, behind many trees and getting very impatient. I was the only one left hiding. Finally someone had found me. I was mad, but luckily she saw me from a distance and she still had to tag me. I had a chance to run. It was a fast passed race through the woods. We reached the end of the woods and starting running through peoples yards. I turned around to see how close she was behind me when I ran into a tree.

I fell to the ground and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. Then my head started to feel warm, almost hot. I felt my head and felt a liquid. Right away I knew it was blood. I looked at my hand and saw nothing but red. I was mad. Soon, my face would be covered in blood. My hands were sticky and I was screaming. The others playing did not know what to do. My friend called my dad and then the police. The sound of the sirens put even more fear into me. At one point I thought death was near. The ambulance came along with two police cars.  The paramedics and my dad rushed me to the hospital because I did not want to be taken by ambulance. The paramedics  wrapped my head with cloth many times to stop the bleeding but it didn’t work. After what felt like a long car ride, the doctor gave me 14 stiches in my forehead. When I got home, the next day, the kids from the neighborhood showed at my door to see how I was doing. Within a week and a half, I was better, and my stitches were gone.

~John Stample