Pet Therapy: How Animals And Humans Heal Each Other
by Julie Rovner, Morning Edition
Those of us who own pets know they make us happy. But a growing body of scientific research is showing that our pets can also make us healthy, or healthier.
That helps explain the increasing use of animals — dogs and cats mostly, but also birds, fish and even horses — in settings ranging from hospitals and nursing homes to schools, jails and mental institutions.
http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2012/03/20120305_me_06.mp3
(4 min 47 sec)
= new reply since forum marked as read
Two rescue dogs lived on her hall, lab mix and a cute little terrier. They certainly got attention from everyone. I brought biscuits, so they hung out with us in her room. Now they have a dispenser in the hallway. My Nana also had a pretty parakeet, named him/her Amelia. The birds are fed and their cages cleaned for the residents. It's a project called Noah's Oasis. Another hall had cats (don't know if they had birds there... 
). 
The rule in the retirement community (condos and apartments) is that the seniors who move there can bring any pets they have, just cannot replace them. My grandmother told me that one man brought his horse! We loved getting to know everybody's pets, and you can imagine how much attention those pets got, too. 
And I know that at least two nursing homes in my area also have pets who live there. What a wonderful comfort for the residents, and these pets get a terrific home, lots of love and attention... 
