Animal Assisted Therapy, Service Dogs, Equine Therapy, Pet therapy, Pet Facilitated Therapy are all terms many of us are familiar with as modes of intervention to help people with a variety of mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. Fish, birds, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, ferrets, rabbits, cats, dogs, and horses have all been employed in these forms of therapy. Animals have been used in nursing homes, hospice, rehabilitation facilities, group homes, domestic violence shelters, counseling centers and hospitals.  We don’t have to look far to see the healing power of pets in the lives of people- everyday. 

PetEducation.com cites the following qualities of our four legged, furry, winged and finned friends as therapeutic:

Trusting: Animals are often very trusting and can help build trust in ourselves and others. By watching them we learn we also are dependent and must rely on others.

Unconditional love: Pets can often tell when their owners are sad or upset and respond in an attentive way. It is really quite amazing how they can pick up on a person's emotions.

Listen: Pets are great listeners. They do not interrupt. They do not feel obligated to share their opinions. They are interested in a variety of topics.

Paw Prints and Purrs states that research is finding that pets truly have the power to heal their owners, especially the elderly. The most serious disease for older people is not cancer or heart disease, but loneliness.

Most of you are educated to some degree about the connections between Intimate Partner Violence, Child Abuse and Animal Abuse. You also know how difficult it is for a survivor of domestic or sexual violence to seek safety if they have to leave a pet behind.

For these reasons and many more, Advocacy in Action is proud to introduce a new component into the 2008 Advocacy in Action Conference agenda, “Animals in Action”, a joint effort between the AIA planning committee, the City of Albuquerque and local pet supply stores to help pair homeless animals with conference attendees. We are planning to have 20 dogs and 20 cats from the City of Albuquerque Animal Shelters brought to the atrium of the Pyramid Hotel for the last break on Friday. All of these four-legged lovelies available for adoption are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, micro chipped, include a rabies license and a free health exam voucher. In a word - they are “free” to a good home.

As an example of a similar initiative, the Mayor of Albuquerque brought one dog to the press conference for the grand opening of the Albuquerque Family Advocacy Center and by the end of the day six animals had been adopted. Clearly, there is a natural connection between those of us that do this work and animals.

Please consider adopting one of the cats or dogs.  You not only will be saving a life but enhancing your own.