• Sensory issues are common among children with autism.
• Sensory integration activities are designed to help them get used to the way something feels against their skin or how it smells or sounds. Dogs and horses have both been used for this purpose.
• Children with autism often find it calming to work with animals

• People with a chronic illness who have little social support get less depression when they have a companion animal.
• Elderly people with pets get less depression.
• People with hearing impairment experience long-lasting reductions in depression.
• The increased physical activity associated with walking companion animal can lead to less depression.
• Animals contribute significantly to everyone’s health and quality of life.

Animals help people recover from mental illness By:

• Providing empathy and ‘therapy’.
• Helping people connect socially.
• Serving as ‘family’.
• Providing people with self-confidence and empowerment.
• Providing companionship.
• Act as ‘social lubricants’.

• Promotes resilience. During life changes the pets offer comfort, affection and a sense of security.
• They become especially vital in times of illness and death.
• Due to their shorter life-span, pets teach us about grief and loss.
• They are often the ‘glue’ in the family – bring family members together.
• Talking to dogs is related to greater life satisfaction, marital satisfaction and physical and emotional good health.
• Confiding in pets to ‘discuss’ life situations greatly relieves stress.

Stressed adults asked to stroke a rabbit, a turtle or their toy forms.The toys had no effect. But stroking a living creature, whether hard-shelled or furry, relieved anxiety.It worked for people regardless of whether they initially said they liked animals.

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Animals don’t have to be cuddly to help.
Elderly people who were given five crickets in a cage became less depressed after eight weeks than a control group.
The act of caring for a living creature seems to make the difference.

Animals make socialising easier for kids who find it stressful.When children with autism had a guinea pig in the classroom, they were more social with their peers, smiled and laughed more and showed fewer signs of stress.

Some dogs 🐶 can detect cancer through smell.They can sense imminent epileptic seizures by observing a person’s facial expressions, posture, muscle tension and respiratory signs – they bark to alert the owner.They can detect hypoglycaemia by smell due to the person’s increased sweating.

• 🦉 Evidence correlates pet ownership with positive physiological measures, such as lower blood pressure, serum triglycerides, and cholesterol levels.
• 🦇 Post MI – patients with pets had a significantly higher 1-year survival than those without; those with dogs were 8.6 times more likely to still be alive,
• 🐶 Stroking a dog significantly reduces blood pressure in both the person and the animal.
• 🐗 Positive impact of pets on coping with chronic conditions and on the course and treatment of illness such as heart disease, dementia, and cancer.
• 🦄 Companion animals ease suffering and anxiety at the end of life for those in palliative and hospice care.

• 🐴 Make us happier,
• 🐱 Lower stress levels & drop blood pressure,
• 🐭 Improve workplace productivity,
• 🐨 Create an environment that is comfortable, open, and flexible,
• 🐷 Has led to staff retention,
• 🦆 Employees feel more supported and have a better perception of their employers if they can bring their pets to work, and,
• 🦅 Employees are also more likely to collaborate and work better in teams because pets help forge social connections.