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Health & Fitness

Healthwise: Dog's empathy brings healing to depressed

By Valerie Minard

You’ve heard of the “horse whisperer,” a special person that can tame the spirit of wild horses.  Well now there are “man whisperers” too! They come in the form of man’s best friend--his or her dog!  Yes, Fido just might be pushing some psychiatrists and therapists out of business.

According to Deborah Custance and Jennifer Mayer, researchers at Goldsmiths College in London, pet dogs show a submissive or calm behavior with a person in distress--even someone they don’t know. This suggests that dogs have a greater empathy or understanding of human emotions than otherwise believed.

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Marc Bekoff, author of “The Emotional Lives of Animals,” agrees.  “Science has discovered a lot about the inner lives of diverse species...” he said.  “We now know that animals have a point of view and that they experience deep feelings.”

Perhaps this special quality of “empathy” might explain why the venues for service dogs keeps expanding.  No longer limited to the seeing-eye service, their tasks have expanded to include being the ears of people who are deaf; pulling a wheelchair; protecting someone susceptible to seizures; reminding the mentally ill to take medication; or being a calming influence for someone with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

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The American Humane Association (AHA) has been a leader in animal-assisted therapy since introducing it to returning WWII veterans in this country.  Today, it runs an “AHA Service Dogs for Veteran’s program” where the vets train their own service dogs to give them medication reminders or alert them to someone's presence.  In addition, vets report health benefits such as increased impulse control, emotional regulation, improved sleep, decreased anxiety, and a decrease in pain medication.

Perhaps it’s not too much of a stretch to liken the canine’s empathy to qualities of unconditional love.  Pets don’t care what you wear; who you know; how much money you have; or what color you are.  They just love and don’t judge.  They may not have words, but their affection and loyalty knows no bounds.  And they’ll give you as much one-on-one time as you need.  And who knew?  Perhaps this secret ingredient, called empathy, may be just the healing ingredient so much needed in health care today where overworked medical staff have little time to comfort patients.

Health and spirituality author and Christian theologian Mary Baker Eddy understood the role that empathy plays in healthcare. She wrote, “The poor suffering heart needs its rightful nutriment, such as peace, patience in tribulation, and a priceless sense of the dear Father's loving-kindness.”

Ian Cook, a psychiatrist and director of the Depression Research and Clinic Program at UCLA, agrees.   "Pets offer an unconditional love that can be very helpful to people with depression," he said.

This was found to be especially true for children, who were at the Sandy Hook Elementary School at Newtown, Connecticut, the day of the mass shooting last December.  When therapy dogs were brought to these children, there was an immediate response.  One little girl, who hadn’t spoken since the shooting, began to talk to her mother again.  Teenagers started to share their fear and grief as they petted one of the golden retrievers.

"When humans show us affection, it's quite a complicated thing that involves expectations and judgments," Deborah Custance said. "But with a dog, it's a very uncomplicated, nonchallenging interaction with no consequences. And if you've been through a hard time, it's lovely to have that."

We have much to learn from our canine companions.  Indeed, they may in fact be man’s best friend-- giving us a glimpse of that divine unconditional love that comforts and heals.

Valerie is a health and spirituality blogger.  She is also the media and legislative spokesperson for Christian Science in New Jersey and a Christian Science practitioner.

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