Puppy Love: Study Tests Power of Dogs Against Cancer

[joeybee12]

To almost anyone who’s cared for a child with cancer, it seems obvious: Sometimes the best medicine isn’t a drug, it’s a dog — four paws and a furry tail — that can make a kid feel better.

Doctors say they’ve known about the value of therapy pets in hospitals for years. Parents swear by them for soothing a scared or angry child. But such reports have been largely anecdotal — until now.

Backed by a nearly $1 million grant from veterinary health firm Zoetis, with matching funds from the Pfizer Foundation, the American Humane Association is launching what advocates say is the first clinical trial of the effects of what’s known as animal-assisted therapy, or AAT, on young cancer patients and their families.

“It’s really this crucial exploration of the child-animal bond and how that is a crucial path to healing,” said Robin Ganzert, president and chief executive of AHA, who is scheduled to brief Congress on the “Canines and Childhood Cancer Study” Thursday morning.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/puppy-love-study-tests-power-dogs-against-cancer-n99651

[Bandit]

1. Thank Dog for small miracles.

[iandhr]

2. Exactly

The dyslectic agnostic insomniac asks "is there a dog?"

[Nay]

3. Kids, hell. Adult response to therapy dogs is positive, too. My radiologist's

office has a therapy dog that meets you every time you come in for an appt. He puts his big head right under your hand to get a petting.

[Brainstormy]

6. Was going to say the same thing

It's not just a kid/dog bond. It's a human/dog bond.

[xchrom]

4. du rec.

[Lurks Often]

5. It works for all ages

I had a relative in a nursing home that allowed animals to come in and it was amazing to watch the response from some of the residents when my dog would stop to say hi to them when they were in the hall in their wheelchairs.

The humans and dogs have interacted with each other for tens of thousands years, without a doubt the most successful inter-species partnership ever.

[oldandhappy]

7. Took the dog with me to visit Mom when she

was in long term care. Went everyday. Sometimes the nurses would stop me and ask that the dog and I visit another patient.

[mopinko]

8. the world would be a better place

if every kid had a dog.
well, and parents good enough to show a good example. that the hard part, i know.

[Arugula Latte]

9. In my family we all much prefer having our cats than any dog, but pets in general are great

for kids.

[TNNurse]

10. I was treated for cancer in 2012

My dog was my closest companion. She followed me from room to room, she was always near.
She had clearly been mistreated before we got her and was very cautious of strangers, barked whenever anyone came to the door.
When the paramedics came to get me after a fairly nasty bout of dehydration and passing out, I had my sister ready to trap her in the bathroom if she got upset (she was on her bed at the foot of our bed). She was quiet and calm as if she knew they were there to help me.

Ironically, we lost her to cancer last year. I may have never grieved over an animal as much. I remembered that as I lay in bed so sick from the chemo, I thought "I would not do this to a dog", they would not understand. So I did not. Her last days were brief and comfortable.

I would have thought she would have been so perceptive of my illness but she was.

[Dragonfli]

13. During my wife's cancer our two Jack Russels preferred to lay by her side to anything else.

Their normal behavior was active and playful, the normal routine would have been to chase each other around our yard, or practice the agility course we set up for them out back.

That all changed when she became ill, if fact, they appeared to know something was wrong before we did. During her chemo and radiation therapies the neighbors told us they raised bloody hell, determined no doubt to find and be with mommy. When she came home and laid down (which was most of the time as it drained her of most of her energy) one would lay across her feet and the other beside her with head cradled in her arm.

One thing I found striking was that they would take turns going out to relieve themselves, the opposite of what they normally did, they appeared to have reached an agreement that one must always be with mommy to comfort her and try to will her into health.

I will never forget what they did for her before she died, the eldest, Jester died of old age, but he was never the same after "the time she did not come home" (as I imagined he might have termed it). The youngest, Pixel is still with me, and is now looking after me during my illness,. I know what you mean about following you from room to room, she won't even allow me in the bathroom without her and scolds me when I have to leave the house and her.

They are very special people dogs are, among the best of all that lives.

[HockeyMom]

11. It's all pets, not just dogs

Doesn't happen with cats too? When I worked in a nursing home, the Humane Society brought in animals so the Seniors could interact with the animals. They brought not just dogs, but cats, and even birds to the home.

[mopinko]

14. cats are good, but there is something about a defender.

we had a boxer dog that taught my dad, whom he adored, that is was just not ok to hit a kid.
he went to spank me, and the dog gently took his wrist in his mouth, sat down, looked up, and let it sink in.

love is love. but a dog, especially a big dog, is a gladiator on your side.