The video of three therapy dogs welcoming passengers at Terminal 2 of the Mumbai airport went viral recently. These dogs — Pepe, Sunshine and Pearl — were seen cuddling, playing ball or just letting passengers hug them. An endearing sight, it at once illustrated the positive effects of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT).
Clinical psychologist, Minal Kavishwar, founder of Animal Angels Foundation, a Pune-based NGO, says AAT can be applied in a variety of settings. “It is most effective when combined with certain other therapies/treatment modalities, to achieve optimum results. This is precisely the reason why it has to be practised by trained mental health professionals,” she says.
The Airport Authority at Mumbai International Airport had approached Kavishwar’s organisation with the concept, and the programme was launched in September 2015 (they wound up in May this year). The dogs were stationed at the airport on weekends. “This was Asia’s first Airport Comfort Dogs Programme and there was a tremendous response,” says Kavishwar.
Positive effect
Passengers, who were stressed because they were stranded, lonely or just homesick, found the presence of a therapy dog comforting.
“Dogs are non-judgemental, and when used for therapy sessions, the involvement of children who have certain developmental issues, is higher. In developed countries, therapy dogs make visits to prison, to spend time with the inmates. This unconditional positive regard is the main benefit of AAT,” says Anuvidya, clinical psychologist and certified animal-assisted training specialist, Saraswathi Kendra Learning Centre (SKLC), Chennai.
“On occasions when I have to identify children from a classroom for a therapy session, there is a willingness to participate when Dr Ruffles (their therapy dog) is involved. Social and emotional growth is enhanced in the process,” she says.
Children with walking disabilities, tend to walk enthusiastically when they are asked to walk the dog.
At SKLC, kids read to Dr Ruffles, brush him (enhanced fine motor skills), and talk to him. “I see a significant progress in the reading skills of children. Some older children also write letters to Ruffles,” says Anuvidya.
As the dogs have different personalities, they’re also employed sensitively. Mukthi, a Beagle, who was rescued from a laboratory with his vocal cords cut off, cannot bark.
As he is not comfortable with large groups, he is used for one-on-one therapy only.
Workplace stress
Srishti Sharma, of Delhi-based the Fur Ball Story, a startup, that sends their therapy dogs to corporate offices, schools or hospitals on request, says, “Our aim is to eliminate stress at workplaces at the basic level itself. Our dogs either walk around the office or stay in a room where employees can go spend time with them. Cocoa, a Chinese Shih Tzu breed, identified as a therapy dog, is used for one-on-one therapy, and especially for senior people and individuals who are afraid of dogs. Cocoa’s size and appearance dispels any fear. We call him a companion dog,” says Sharma.
Look out for their dogs, Angel and Muffin, who will be greeting the passengers at T2, Mumbai airport, from the month of August.
Hospital visits
So how receptive are hospitals in India to these dogs?
“Initially, there was a lot of resistance. Even if the doctors were convinced, we encountered resistance in the administration, and getting permission was challenging. Now, hospitals are open to this concept,” says Kavishwar. International standards of practice and infection control are followed, especially when they work in special settings such as cancer centres.
Scientific approach
A qualified clinical psychologist, a dog handler and the therapy dog work in tandem; it is a team. The therapist is always a certified mental/medical health practitioner, who is trained in applying AAT as a mode of treatment for his/her scope of work.
“For an animal-assisted intervention to be called ‘therapy’, certain criteria have to be fulfilled. The psychologist has to document goals and achievements using standardised scales. The documented progress is used to form empirical evidence to support the effect of AAT,” says Kavishwar.
“We raise the dogs, so they develop an understanding about their role in the therapeutic set-up,” says Kavishwar.
“Fourteen years ago, when I started my first project in animal therapy, this field was non-existent, and there was no research in the Indian setting. When I documented my research, it became the first documented evidence of the effectiveness of AAT,” she says.
The role of the therapist is to guide interaction between the therapy animal and the client, and facilitate treatment. The tuning between the therapist and the therapy dog is very important. Usually, in a session, there is always a handler along with the therapy dog, besides the therapist.
“Communication and interaction between humans and animals is instant, and it is natural. We call this biophilia hypothesis, and this is the basis of AAT,” says Anuvidya. She adds that dogs enjoy the human touch and love. In return, they give us an unconditional love that no human can give.