Animal Care Outreach & Rescue Network

14/11/2022

A psychiatric service dog for anxiety can: Pick up on signs and symptoms of anxiety attacks before they start. Distract you during an anxiety attack so that you can calm down. Apply physical pressure with its body to help calm you down.
Psychiatric service dogs (PSDs) are dogs that are specially trained to work with people who have certain kinds of mental illnesses or learning disabilities. These dogs can help their owners perform tasks that they otherwise might not be able to do or help them to live a more independent lifestyle.
Types of Service Animals
PSDs are trained animals that aren’t to be confused with other types of service animals.
‌Emotional support animals.Emotional support animals (ESAs) are pets or animals that can provide you with emotional support during difficult times. Unlike PSDs, ESAs don’t need any special training. They can be any kind of domestic animal, not just a dog. However, dogs and cats are the most common choices when it comes to emotional support animals.
ESAs aren’t trained to do specific tasks in the way that service dogs are. They can simply offer you comfort and help you relax during stressful situations.
Service animals. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says that service animals are dogs that are trained to work with people who have disabilities. Each dog is individually trained to help people with tasks that they might not otherwise be able to do. Service dogs can help guide people with vision, mobility, or physical difficulties.
Psychiatric service dogs. PSDs are trained to work with people who have certain mental health issues rather than physical disabilities. These dogs have the same rights as service dogs do, meaning they can go with you in places where pets usually aren’t allowed. PSDs also can travel with you on planes without any additional cost.‌
Psychiatric service dogs can be any breed of dog or any size, as long as the dog is able to accompany the owner to public places. Psychiatric service dog training can be done by you, as the owner, but usually, these dogs are individually trained by organizations.
Who Can Get Psychiatric Service Dogs?
Psychiatric service dog training focuses on helping people with certain mental illnesses, such as:
Depression
Anxiety
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Panic attacks
Bipolar disorders
Schizophrenia
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Agoraphobia
Social phobias‌
The ADA states that anyone with a diagnosed disability can get a service dog. The disability may be physical or mental, and it must impact your life to the point where major activities are limited. Mental illnesses – like anxiety, depression, or PTSD – can be a disability if they put limitations on your life. Some examples might be if you can’t work or leave your home due to the illness.
To qualify for a PSD, your mental illness has to prevent you from living your life independently. If you have a mental illness, but it doesn’t limit your daily life, you wouldn’t be able to get a psychiatric service dog. You also must be able to show that you can give the dog commands, care for it, and give it a stable and loving home.‌
PSDs for Anxiety. Anxiety is the most common mental illness around the world, and a psychiatric service dog can help you manage it.
A psychiatric service dog for anxiety can:
Pick up on signs and symptoms of anxiety attacks before they start
Distract you during an anxiety attack so that you can calm down
Apply physical pressure with its body to help calm you down
Warn others to give you space
Get your medication during an anxiety attack
Give you a sense of safety with their presence
Alert others for help if they sense that you’re in danger
Tasks and Training
Psychiatric service dogs are highly trained to perform tasks that help their owners.
‌Physical tasks. Your PSD can perform physical tasks like waking you up in the morning, or even at night if they sense that you’re having bad dreams or nightmares. They may also be able to get you water or medication if you’re unable to get them for yourself. Your psychiatric service dog may even remind you to take your medication at a specific time.
Emotional support. These dogs are also trained to support you emotionally. In social situations, your dog can help you create personal space so that social situations aren’t so overwhelming. PSDs help calm you down during emotional situations so that you can carry on. Your dog can also alert others to help you if they sense that you’re under extreme distress.
While psychiatric service dogs can be any breed, it’s important that these dogs are well-behaved and good-tempered. They shouldn’t be too aggressive or easily stressed, since they will help guide you when you are around others. These dogs should like to be touched, as they will often be around you.‌
Along with this, a PSD must be able to adapt to new environments and situations. These dogs are trained to keep calm in loud areas, crowded places, and environments with lots of stimuli. The calmer they are, the more they can help you.
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12/11/2022

Why do people all over the world find solace from cat videos and dog Instagram accounts? It’s because animals soften our souls, appealing to some purer, loving part of ourselves. It’s an inexplicable human-animal bond, enduring friendships and emotional support, which many humans struggle to find in other humans. They brighten so many people’s lives, with an estimated 67% of U.S. households (or 84.9 million homes) owning a pet.

These bonds can be greater still between a person living with mental illness and their pet. In one study, 60% of people with chronic mental health conditions considered their pets to be as important as family members. The healing power of our little friends can be indescribable.

This was the case with my dearly departed cat Dude. Way back when I got him, I could have never imagined the critical, pure loving role that he would come to play in coping with my severe depression. He sensed it, and he lived it with me. He never left my side even when everyone else did. He never left me all alone. He rescued me many times in his instinctive caring way. I’d speak to him in the depths of my depression: “You love me, you’ll always love me no matter what,” and I’d hear his silent response.

Many pets have a natural talent to support us, and they can play a valuable role in addressing mental health issues.

Benefits Of The Human-Animal Bond
Pet ownership has many possible mental health benefits. It has been shown to reduce stress, depression and anxiety and improve overall quality of life in many ways. Pets provide a calm presence, can divert negative thoughts and promote exercise. Caring for pets can help commit owners to routines, such as daily walking, create a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and facilitate social and community interactions and integration. Some of these benefits can come from just petting or playing with pets. However, the greatest direct benefit of pet ownership is emotional companionship. All loving pet owners know this, but the impact on people living with mental illness can be profound. It can even be life-saving.

A literature review of people living with mental illness shows convincing evidence of this “pet effect.” According to this review, which is consistent with my own personal experiences, pet ownership can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. Pets are an important, trusted and consistent source of unconditional love and affection. They intuitively provide this support in times of need and can be a helpful distraction from ruminations on negative thoughts, including suicidal ideation.

They are also valued as a “person” to speak to, because a person may speak to them without fear of judgment or the sense of being a burden. As they seemingly listen without response, there is no fear of interruptions, criticisms and advice, and there is respect for boundaries and confidentiality. A pet is accepting of their owner without regard for their illness. As a result, they make people feel good about themselves and provide reasons to live.
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11/11/2022

It's estimated that 78 million dogs and 85.8 million cats are owned in the United States. Approximately 44% of all households in the United States have a dog, and 35% have a cat. (Source: American Pet Products Association 2015-2016 (APPA)
According to the ASPCA’s National Rehoming Survey, pet problems are the most common reason that owners rehome their pet, accounting for 47% of rehomed dogs and 42% of rehomed cats. Pet problems were defined as problematic behaviors, aggressive behaviors, grew larger than expected, or health problems owner couldn’t handle.
Approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. We estimate that the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011. The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.1 million).
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10/11/2022

Animal -Assisted Pet Therapy is beneficial to everyone that engages.
Scientific evidence has proven that stroking a dog for 15 minutes can reduce a human’s blood pressure by 10% as well as increase the production of feel-good hormones including serotonin, prolactin and oxytocin. Humans have a very special relationship with dogs, one that naturally makes us feel better just by having warm hair to touch. 🐶🐱💙

08/11/2022

What is animal–assisted therapy? Animal-assisted therapy, or pet therapy, is an ancient practice used to help people recover from or manage different mental illnesses or health issues such as hypertension and cancer.
88% of pet owners know that pets can reduce stress levels in humans.
Pet therapy statistics reveal that 86% of participants are aware pets can reduce depression. Moreover, 80% were aware of its healing effects on people with PTSD. Another 60% were aware that pet ownership is excellent for people suffering from heart-related conditions too.

(these stats/facts are provided by www.petpedia.co)

06/11/2022

Therapy pets are animals that visit hospitals, retirement homes, hospice centers, nursing homes, and schools. Although most therapy pets are dogs, other species such as cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses are good candidates. These lovable pets are well trained, have good temperaments, and are people-friendly.
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06/11/2022

Animal cruelty has different faces. It can be intentional, like in factory farming or lab testing, or the complete neglect of an organization or a pet owner. Whatever the case, the animal abuse facts and statistics keep rising.
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06/11/2022

Working with a friendly pet helps many physical and mental issues. It can help reduce blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health. It helps to release endorphins that produce a calming effect. This can help lessen pain, reduce stress, and improve overall psychological state. 🐶🐱

06/11/2022

There’ve been 483 drug-positive Greyhounds in Florida alone over 10 years.
Over 100,000 horses in the US are killed for human consumption.
On average, 250,000 animals every year are victims of animal hoarding.
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06/11/2022

It’s our mission to improve and save animal lives by promoting quality care and compassion through adoption and education in the southern Ohio region. 🐶🐱

05/11/2022

Every 60 seconds, one animal suffers abuse. Close to 65% of all abused animals are dogs. Every year, more than 10 milion animals die from abuse in the US alone. These numbers are alarming and cannot be ignored. 🐶
https://animalcareoutreach.org/

Take a moment and consider the countless numbers of animals that are abused, beaten, murdered each day. Help us help them! Best charities to donate to nonprofit

05/11/2022