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The Times of India, Pune: 13 Oct 08
SILENT HEALERS
The city is discovering a whole new breed of therapists in animals. Endearing, loving and non-judgmental, they help people cope with their disabilities and traumas
Aditi Utpat | TNN
His beautiful brown eyes twinkled
as we said ‘Hi’. He held out his ‘hand’ for a firm handshake, instantly
inspiring trust. He is affectionate and loving, and a great listener. He
is Bobo, the young pug who has been trained to be a ‘therapist’.
Minal Kavishwar, founder of Animal Angels Foundation (AAF) that
specialises in animal-assisted therapy, has been training animals to
become therapists for the last five years. For now, the therapy is being
offered for free as AAF wants to spread awareness about it. “The concept
is based on the fact that we connect faster
with animals than we do with people. In person-to-person interaction,
there are a lot of expectations involved. With animals, you don’t need
words to express, and the love and acceptance is unconditional. We use
this trait in animals to help people overcome various types of
problems,” explained Minal.
Bobo was introduced to special children at a popular city school as
a “reading dog”. He has been trained to sit alongside children with
learning disabilities and look into the reading matter as they read to
him. “The children feel more comfortable reading to Bobo as he is
non-judgmental and does not laugh when they make mistakes in reading or
pronunciation,” Minal said.
“Learning is so much more fun and easier when Bobo is around,” said
Krish, a std VII student. Yash, a student of the same school added,
“When we study, he points out the part we are reading. He is very cute.
But he got scared when all of us clapped together and somersaulted.”
Narrating an anecdote to drive home the success of the therapy, Aditi
Bodas, a volunteer with AAF, said, “There was a boy at one of the autism
centres who was unable to speak. He resisted all efforts made by
therapists and would only make random sounds. When we took our therapy
dog Sophie to the centre, he warmed up to her and tried to call her name
‘Sophie’. Those were his first words in many years, and the joy on his
face was for all to see.”
While AAF facilitates therapy, it does not own any pets. Involved
mainly in dog training, it relies on different families that allow their
dogs to be trained and become animal therapists. Thereafter, the dog is
loaned to the foundation for a fixed period of time. The dogs have their
appointments and specialisations, too!
Not unlike our regular therapists, the dogs also undergo tests to
become therapy dogs. “We test the dog for it’s temperament. It should
not be easily excitable, neither very quiet. It should get along easily
with people. It must be proactive in initiating ‘dialogue’, as we often
work with people who have withdrawn into a shell,” said Minal. For now,
the city has 15 therapy dogs volunteered by various families. Mohit
Khatanhar, one of the donors, said that his family was approached by AAF
for training their dog. “We took to the idea immediately. We felt it
would be great to train our pet to be a therapy dog as Minal said he had
all the required characteristics.”
Mohan Agashe, noted city-based psychiatrist, said that while the
therapy certainly has its own place, it must be viewed in the right
perspective. “Creating joy in life, making coping easier, making life
more meaningful and productive, are the outcome of treatment and
management of emotions. In that context, therapy certainly has a big
role to play and therapy pets can help to a big extent,” Agashe said.
Vinay Gorhe, a city-based veterinarian, who has recommended many
pets to AAF, said, “Most people are unaware of the concept. However,
they are thrilled when I tell them that their pet can be used for this
purpose. None of the families, whose pets I have recommended for pet
therapy, have refused it until now.”
Speaking to TOI, Pradnya Dhokrikar, a prominent city-based
veterinarian, said, “Sometimes, people approach me saying that their
child is hyper-active or lonely. They ask me what breed of dogs they
should keep to help the child, and I gives me great joy to learn that a
dog will be adopted to act as a companion.”
Commenting on animal-assisted therapy Pradnya said, “It is a big
field of work in the western countries, but it is still in its infancy
in India. Though I think it is a very positive step, a lot needs to be
done to popularise the therapy.”
Other animals used in therapy: Cats,
rabbits, birds, fish, dolphin, ferrets, horses
Illnesses where animal assisted therapy has been used in India:
Depression, post-traumatic stress, autism, dyslexia, cancer, AIDS,
hearing and speech impairment.
Contact AAF on: 9421004291 or animalangels.org.in
MEET THE THERAPISTS
Kutty: India’s first therapy dog was instrumental in helping
children of the Thane municipal corporation’s school for the mentally
disabled.
Goldie: A golden retriever, she was used to interact with
families of victims of 7/11 blasts in Mumbai and specialises in healing
post-traumatic stress disorders.
Krunk: The oldest therapy dog in the country, this Labrador
assists children with learning disabilities. Has conducted book reading
sessions at the British Council Library and Crossword bookstore.
Kiara: A golden retriever, she is India’s first dog to be allowed
inside a hospital. A regular at the Ruby Hall Clinic’s cancer centre,
she helps improve patients’ quality of life, akin to palliative care.
HOW THEY HELP
Sensory stimuli like the softness of
the fur, rough paws, wet tongue etc. help motivate motor skills and
sensory skills.
Helps improve speech by encouraging the patient to give
commands to the dog to play with it.
Helps improve eye contact in children suffering from
various types of attention disorders.
