therapy

Pets are more than just playmates; all about pet therapy and the healing power of animals.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
What is a service dog? According to the Americans With Disabilities Act, service animals are used to mitigate their handler's disabilities. These highly trained animals are becoming more and more common. With the rise of legitimate service animals, there is also a rise in fake ones. I am a service dog handler myself. Welcome to my story about the daily struggles of being a handler.
By Liv Tanner5 years ago in Petlife
Horses and Healing
Every time I look at this mountain backdrop, it fills me with a sense of aww. This place is sacred to me. It is where I can escape the world, and feel free to be ME. It is a place of self-discovery, hope, and healing.
By Chloe Baier5 years ago in Petlife
Super Powered Pets
It has been an absolute blessing to have a cat and a dog as pets during this time of quarantine. They have been definite mood busters. Indy the dog and Mazikeen the cat both are very unique and have special super powers.
By Eloise Giesbrecht6 years ago in Petlife
For the Love of Pets
I have had pets in my life since my earliest days, a lot of us have. Few children go through life without asking their parents for a dog (if they don’t already have one) and in my adult life, I remember the joy of picking up my new kitten from the SPCA. My Robby is with me right now, snoozing comfortably on his favorite ottoman across the room. Animal companions fill our lives with joy and comfort, especially in trying times such as these.
By Nicole "ChaseThePen" Sanchez6 years ago in Petlife
Bailey's Story
Bailey's story is a life-changing one, my life. 10 years I battled with life-crippling symptoms and dealt with 17 dismissive doctors that I had started to give up. I had to go to a doctor purely by chance due to a chest infection that wouldn't shift I reluctantly went to a new doctor. When I heard those words "you have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome." confusion would be putting lightly. I had no idea what it was, for hours after my appointment, and I was researching like a demon-possessed. Looking up every website, article, leaflet or Facebook I could find. I would then go on to add Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Hemiplegic Migraines and Non- epileptic dissociative Seizures (NEDS) to my ever-growing list of comorbidities.
By Jess Turns6 years ago in Petlife
MY THERAPIST HAS A WET NOSE
To say that I'm a dog person would be an understatement! What's not to love about our four-legged canine companions? They are always available to provide whatever they feel we may need; often unaware of the fact that was exactly what we needed. You can always rely on a dog to act silly to make you laugh. Or placing their head on your lap at the exact moment that it is so desperately needed. Two of my favorite quotes about our furry friends are: "He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." -anon. And "Dog. A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world's worship."- Ambrose Bierce.
By Andres Wiest6 years ago in Petlife
The Pet Effect: How Dogs Can Better Your Life
While dogs can often be overlooked as a simple pet, it is proven that they play a much more beneficial role in an individual’s life. Besides companionship, dogs provide much needed mental relief in their owners — serving as a type of emotional support. Due to this, dogs have not only functioned as a best friend, but as a type of therapy for humans.
By Ban Haidous6 years ago in Petlife
Some people just don’t understand
I have wanted to tell this story, but I didn’t know how so I had to think about it first. So before I start to tell you what happened, Seeing-eye dogs, which is a service dog for a blind person, for a very long time, was the only kind of dog allowed to go anywhere a person could go. However, I would like to make everyone aware in today’s society we all need to be mindful that there are plenty of other kinds of service dogs.
By Amy Falk6 years ago in Petlife
Cats and Relationships
It had been almost six months since I spoke to Brian, I missed his touch and the sound of his voice. I aches for his arms to wrap around me again and hold me close so I could feel his heart beat against mine.
By Jenifer de la Cruz6 years ago in Petlife
We All Know It’s a Dog
Look. We’ve all done it. We see the adorable Labrador, Poodle, Pomeranian, etc. out in a place where there are not usually dogs. We gasp. We frantically point it out to our friends. It happens. The real issue is what many people do after they see that the dog has a vest.
By Erin Brewer7 years ago in Petlife
River Walker
I meet a lot of interesting people while living full-time in a 5th wheel RV. But I think Willow the marine and her pack of enormous dogs take the cake as the most obviously colorful. I met Willow in the desert of Quartzite, Arizona, where I spent the winter. Quartzite is a hotspot for snowbirds and other types of nomadic RVers. Willow was living in a trailer with her husband and 9 huge dogs, 7 of them puppies.
By Kaatje Jones7 years ago in Petlife
Service Dogs, Businesses, and the Americans with Disabilities Act
With the the increase of people getting service dogs and an influx of people faking having service animals, it has become very hard for the public to distinguish between a real service dog and a fake service dog. For this reason and the fact that most people do not know the laws that govern service dogs places of business either do not abide by the law by refusing services to service dog handlers or allowing anyone with an animal to enter. These are very big problems for real service dog handlers so it is extremely important to know the laws.
By Kayla Powell7 years ago in Petlife