This is a story I picked up while looking for more information on Emotional Support Animals:
A type of service dog known as an
emotional support dog has been helping children in Cape Coral, Fla.
The service dogs play dress up, listen to the kids talk, become a
part of imaginary role play, watch puppet shows, and run around. And in
response, the children become less anxious, less fearful, can develop
the courage to speak, can improve their self esteem, and have decreased
suicidal and self harm thoughts.
But the dogs that work with these children aren’t ordinary service dogs; they’re emotional support dogs.
The dogs are designed to help children who have any of a variety of
problems—those who have been a victim or witness to a trauma, who have
suffered from grief, have been subject to divorcing parents, those who
are in foster care, and a host of other issues.
Tara Moser is the owner of, and a therapist at, Delta Family
Counseling in Cape Coral and includes emotional support dogs in play
therapy with children, if the child chooses.
Emotional Support Dog in the Making
“Dogs are first temperament-tested to ensure they have the
appropriate personality. Next obedience classes are taken. From there we
can obtain several other options for service dog training, but there’s a
focus on mental health and engaging with the kids,” Moser explains.
Emotional support dogs are becoming more recognized since they can
help adults as well as children. They’re typically used to relieve
anxiety and fear, says Stacy Alldredge, owner of Who’s Walking Who, a
dog training school in New York City.
For some people these problems are so paralyzing—one woman was afraid
to leave her home because a family member was murdered— that they can’t
live normal lives.
“Dogs are Prozac,” says Alldredge. “Except they are much better
anxiety relief.” Dogs help us feel better she says, both through their
solid, physical presence, but also because, like being near a baby, they
make us feel better. It’s the feeling of not being alone,” she adds.
With a Service Dog, Personality Matters
Dogs of any breed can become emotional support dogs and Alldredge has trained types from
Pit Bulls to
Yorkshire Terriers for this role. “It’s more about the temperament of the dog and what they can provide to a human,” she explains.
“Ideal are nice, calm dogs with a reassuring personality.” She does steer clear of the very big breeds, she says, like
Great Danes and
Irish Wolfhounds, because they can be a hindrance in certain places in New York, especially in confined places like on the subway.
All emotional support dogs that Alldredge trains are healthy,
well-mannered, non-aggressive, non-threatening and more than a year old.
Over time, of course, these emotional support dogs often become man’s
proverbial best friend, but on top of that, they give people a new
lease on life, and even help them reduce or cease taking anxiety
medications.
