Animals Case

There are many people around the world who are unable to do all of the normal tasks an average person can do. Some people were born with disabilities, while others were caused from an injury. No matter what the cause, it is very unfortunate to see a person who cannot live their life normally. Some victims live without assistance, and some have a person who cares for them constantly. However, these aren't the only two options. Animals do a great job providing assistance to disabled people because they offer reliability, psychological benefits, a variety of different types of help, and a faster recovery time.

Ten thousand years is an extremely long period of time. According to "Evolutionary genomics of dog domestication", the domestication of dogs began over ten thousand years ago (Wayne 4). Wayne explains that "About 10,000 years ago, with the development of agrarian societies, there was likely more intense selection for dogs of smaller size and with behaviors, such as docility, that allowed for close contact with humans" (4). The fact that dogs have had such a long period of time to domesticate makes them reliable because there has been a lot of time to make progress and improve. Also, in this amount of time, humans have been able to breed dogs to produce certain types, and certain traits. Since they have been selective breeding for so long, certain dogs have certain instincts. In these modern times, we are able to pick a certain breed depending on what traits we want rather it be a hunting dog, guard dog, or most importantly, a dog needed for assistance.

Domestication of dogs clearly isn't something new. The services they offer aren't something new either. Canines have been providing services since World War I (Ostermeier 587). According to Ostermeier, "On one particular day during the war, while walking through the grounds of a veteran's hospital, Dr. Gerhard Stalling left his German shepherd with one of his patients, and when he returned he noticed that his dog seemed to be helping the blind veteran" (587). This is how the idea of using guide dogs started. This evidence shows that dogs had a natural instinct for helping people almost a whole century ago, which increases their reliability. Also, in the past century, training has become more popular which has only improved the behavior of canines.

The acts of this dog led to many great things. After Dr. Stalling noticed what his dog had done, he started a guide dog school and the military began using dogs to help the wounded soldiers (587). The military takes the well being of injured soldiers very seriously, and they still use dogs today even though almost an entire century has passed. Clearly, dogs are continuing to prove their reliability if they are still being used in the military. There is even a whole organization called "Americas VetDogs," dedicated to providing veterans with service dogs (Watkins 9). The VetDogs website claims "VetDogs trains and provides assistance dogs for veterans who are blind or visually impaired; have disabilities other than blindness. We train physical and occupational dogs to work with wounded soldiers and active duty personnel. For a dog to become a VetDog, it must meet our health, safety, and training standards, and must be trained for and matched with to meet the needs of a person with disabilities" ("Our Dog Programs." par. 2). This organization cares about their clients, and this is why they provide them with assistance dogs. If the organization continues to be successful, the dogs must be doing their job and continuing to be reliable.

In contrast to helping the men who serve our country, dogs also serve criminals. This may seem odd, but prisons actually let some prisoners train dogs. According to Watkins, "NEADS, a nonprofit organization that uses inmates to train their dogs, provides canine assistance dogs to combat Veterans and people with hearing and physical disabilities. The use of inmates, while cost effective, is also intended to provide a therapeutic support for the inmates" (9). This is amazing and also shows the natural reliability of a dog. The dogs aren't even trained when they are paired with an inmate. However, they still offer benefits to the prison by offering therapeutic support.

Aside from being reliable, animals are also a great source for psychological benefits. According to Winkie, "Studies from the United States, Japan and the UK found that people with physical disabilities partnered with service dogs reported several psychological benefits including significant increases in self-esteem, internal locus of control, well being and positive affect" (Winkie 58). These studies are proof that animals do indeed provide psychological benefits. Self-esteem makes a huge difference while trying to overcome a disability. Also, in Mill's article, it states, "Although the medical evidence for the health benefits of the human-animal bond is not definitive, evidence suggests that pets can promote health and wellbeing in disable and abled persons alike" (15). While it's true that research on animals and human bonding still has a long way to go, everything observed so far supports the idea that animals are positive assistance. Boris Levinson was a therapist who saw the benefits that dogs have on people (Shubert 22). According to Shubert, "The child [Levinson's patient] and his mother arrived early for their appointment, before Levinson had time to confine his dog, Jingles. Until that time, Levinson had been unable to establish a relationship with the child, but Jingles quickly facilitated the establishment of a therapeutic relationship between Levinson and the child" (22). Research hasn't provided a reason for these happenings yet. However, it's undeniable that canines can provide psychological benefits to humans. Whatever the reason may be, it's an important trait in dogs because if you are positive psychologically, you are more likely to be positive physically. This may lead to healing faster. Even if the humans condition cannot be healed, its easier to handle a condition if you are able to be psychologically healthy.

Since canines can provide psychological benefits, it's no surprise that they offer a variety of different types of assistance. In Winkie's article, she explains that there are three different "interactions" that take place between humans and dogs (55). The first type is referred to as "AAA" which stands for "animal-assisted activities" (55). This is just "casual" visiting between a human and canine. The second type is referred to as "AAT" which stands for "animal assisted therapy" (55). This is when a dog visits a human