Encyclopedia of animal rights and animal 102

Animal-Assisted Therapy | 59
prepared to visit institutions and other
settings. An advantage of this system
is that the person offered the visitation
is spared the responsibility of oversight
and care of the animal. Someone who is
institutionalized, in hospice, or in medical recovery often is not prepared to assume responsibility for an animal’s care,
but can still benefit from occasional visits
with an animal.
When the person is vigorous and
healthy enough to oversee and provide
most of the fulltime care for the animal, it
may be more beneficial for the same person to be the handler and also receive the
benefits. Assistance dogs provide a fulltime therapeutic relationship. Dogs may
be specially bred and extensively trained
over a couple of years, as with guide and
service dogs, or the training may be conducted over a shorter period of time, as
with hearing and seizure dogs. Psychiatric service dogs are a new development,
where the handler arranges for the training, usually with a companion animal
that is already on hand. The handler may
have a physical or mental disability and
still assume the major responsibility for
the dog’s care. Dogs placed with people
in wheelchairs have been termed service
dogs, and are prepared similarly to guide
dogs, with special breeding, puppy raisers, and extensive training. As the applications of assistance dogs have broadened,
the designation of service, guide, and
hearing dogs has often converged with
the term assistance dogs; however, the
nomenclature is not entirely consistent.
Legislative protection permits an assistance animal for people with a disability

that interferes with their ability to perform the activities of daily living. Regulatory language allowing public access
may use the term service or assistance
animal, and the terminology has become

less specific and more overlapping. The
lack of any system for governmental or
regulatory certification, paired with the
personalized training of dogs to address
specific needs of the person, results in a
continuing expansion of the special roles
of dogs.

The Welfare of the Animal
Most animal-assisted interventions
employ dogs or horses. Both of these
species benefit when handlers are knowledgeable about their basic needs and
veterinary guidance is available. Dogs
readily take to partnership with their
human companions. Most breeds of dogs
used are those that were specifically
shaped to assist humans in particular
tasks. When a breed that is well-suited
for the expected tasks is selected, a dog
given suitable experiences and training has a high probability of becoming
a successful partner. Virtually all dogs
welcome the handler, enjoy walks, and
are expressive, loyal, and attentive—all
traits that are highly valued by people
who spend time with dogs. The subtle
attentiveness of dogs to humans is now

well documented, showing that dogs respond to the gaze, pointing, or yawning
of a human. Thus, a natural compatibility
arises between the dog that likes working as a partner and the handler who feels
appreciated and loved by the dog.
Horses offer inspiring partnerships
that can be highly motivating as an intervention. The safety concerns and the
challenges of managing such a large
animals require that a number of people
be involved in providing equine-assisted
therapy. The welfare of horses has been
well studied, and information is available on methods of training, husbandry
and transport.