Animal Assisted Activities

Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) include the now well-known pet visits. We go to facilities where residents or clients can benefit from the therapeutic effects of human-animal interactions. Studies have demonstrated that these visits can lead to decreased blood pressure, lowered pulse and breathing rates, and increased appetite, among other benefits. These visits can be one-to-one visits, or group visits by one team or a maximum of two teams in a given visiting session.

Animal Assisted Activities can occur as:

• an individual visit with a therapy dog team
• a group visit to one or more patients/residents by one or two therapy dog teams

AAA visits can include demonstrations of dog obedience, flyball demos, tricks, but does NOT require direct supervision of a health-care provider.

General therapeutic benefits include:

• lowering blood pressure
• decreasing heart rate
• decreasing breathing rate
• increasing appetite
• emotional benefits such as decreasing depression, increasing self-esteem and self-worth, decreasing agitation and anxiety
• behaviour modification for those with anger management issues, or perserveration.