Here, a therapy dog visits a hospital patient. A new study finds these visits may bring more than just smiles. They may also reduce some symptoms in emergency room patients. Photo: TommyStockProject/Shutterstock

時事英語 Current Events Course at Matsusho College 2022 summer

In an emergency, you may want to see Dr. Dog

At the hospital, you expect to see a doctor. But seeing a dog might help, too.

Scientists did a new study. They found that a visit with a dog can make hospital patients feel better. It makes them hurt less. It also reduces anxiety, or feelings of worry.

In some hospitals, volunteers bring dogs to visit patients. These pets might even visit hospital workers. The idea is that spending time with pets helps people. It can make them feel relaxed. It might even help them get better. Scientists have not tested this idea much, though.

Some Patients Felt Better After Dog Visits

So, scientists in Canada ran a study. They worked at the University of Saskatchewan. They had therapy dogs visit 97 patients in a hospital. It was close to the university in Saskatoon.

The dogs visited patients for 10 minutes. After one visit, almost half of the patients said they felt less pain. About half of the patients felt less anxious or depressed, too. Depression is a mental illness. It makes it hard to feel happiness or joy. It is different than feeling sad or lonely. These feelings are normal. They go away. Depression lasts longer. It can be very serious.

Image 1. A therapy dog visits with a patient. Photo: monkeybusinessimages/Getty Images

In additional 101 patients did not visit with the dogs. Their symptoms did not change. Symptoms are signs of an illness. One example of a symptom is pain. Another is a headache.

A lot of patients felt less pain after the visits. They only hurt a bit less. But any drop can be important. Colleen Anne Dell is one of the study’s leaders. She is a sociologist. She studies how people act in groups. She and her team said that pain is one of the main reasons people go to the hospital. They said it is the reason for most visits.

Animals Could Join Care Teams

Dell is happy about the findings. She has worked with Indigenous peoples in Canada. They are the first people to live in the country. She said animal therapy fits with their way of thinking about health. It is about our relationships with the environment, she said. Animals can play a part in health.

For Educational purposes.

By Science News for Students, adapted by Newsela staff

Published:06/10/2022