Dogs As Human Carers

When you hear the word 'carer', you probably don't immediately think of dogs but they are a very caring species. With their devoted natures and nurturing tendencies, it's no wonder why dogs are used to play the role of carer in many different situations. Here are just some of the ways that dogs can act as carers to humans.

Service animals

Dogs are very intelligent. Some of them are smart enough to be able to detect small changes in a human's body moments before a seizure or drop in blood sugar occur. This makes dogs the ideal companion for people with a range of physical and emotional disabilities. Service dogs help a huge variety of people, from children and adults with emotional disorder and autism, to those who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, or susceptible to having a seizure, diabetes or other illnesses.

Therapy dogs

Unlike service dogs, who are trained for a particular purpose and tend to work with just one person, therapy dogs are usually active in hospitals, schools, courts or rehabilitation centres. They provide comfort and support for people who are physically or mentally unwell and they can be a wonderful tool that helps aid in recovery from illnesses. Therapy dogs are often also used in disaster areas to help survivors find comfort. The friendly, relaxing nature of dogs makes them an ideal therapy animal for many different situations and for people of all ages.

Emotional support animals

Dogs are only one kind of animal that can be registered as an emotional support animal. Emotional support animals aren't trained like service dogs, and they don't work in group settings like therapy dogs, but they do offer one to one emotional support when prescribed by a mental health provider. Because dogs are so intelligent and so loyal, they make a great choice for an emotional support pet. In fact, even when not registered as a true emotional support dog, most dog owners agree that their pet helps them cope better with stress and negative emotions.

Recent Articles