Pets help and heal all types of people and provide humans with love and comfort second to none. This is a book that highlights the many ways that animals heal and the gift of unconditional love they give!

Increasingly, medicine is recognizing the special relationship between pets and people as one of the most powerful weapons in fighting disease, treating chronic conditions, and coping with troubling times. In fact, many doctors are routinely "prescribing" pets for their patients. The Healing Power of Pets explores these phenomena in greater detail, combining revolutionary scientific discoveries with deeply moving, personal stories of the unique bond between pets and their owners. The stories are of people who have learned how to triumph over chronic pain, paralyzing phobias, sedentary lifestyles, and life-threatening conditions -- showing us that the best medicine might be that furry tail-wagging pet at your side.

Pets help and heal all types of people and provide humans with love and comfort second to none. This is a book that highlights the many ways that animals heal and the gift of unconditional love they give!

Pets love us unconditionally. They're always happy to see us, they encourage us when we're feeling down, and their devotion is touching and reassuring. If this is true for the average pet owner, it is especially true for the disabled, handicapped, emotionally troubled, and seriously ill person.In this uplifting book we learn firsthand how the field of Animal Assisted Therapy is having remarkable success training animals to help and enhance the lives of children and adults with serious medical problems. Hospital rehabilitation programs, physical and occupational therapy sessions, nursing homes, mental healthcare facilities, and hospice programs are just some of the settings where dogs, cats, horses, and other animals have helped patients cope with often daunting medical challenges.With more than fifty photographs showing the visible improvements that trained therapy pets are making in the lives of sick and disabled people, the compelling stories relate many inspiring incidents of the healing animal-human partnership: six-year-old Brendan, disabled from birth, successfully completes his physical therapy with the help of Zorro, a big black hound once considered unadoptable; Philip, a hospice patient in his last days, finds some joy in the company of a therapy dog named Andy; and Tikva, a Keeshond therapy dog from Oregon, helps to comfort emotionally drained firefighters at New York City's Ground Zero.For animal lovers, healthcare providers, and anyone who appreciates how animals and humans interrelate, this is a wonderful, truly inspirational book.Jacqueline J. Crawford is a clinical psychologist at Lakeland Mental Health Center in Moorhead, MN, and the lead author of Please! Teach ALL of Me: Multisensory Instruction for Preschoolers.Karen A. Pomerinke is a professional dog trainer in the state of Washington and the moderator of the pet-advice website www.greatpets.com.Donald W. Smith is a photographer, website designer, and a retired mental health counselor.

Ten animals - nine non-human and one human - take you on ten journeys, where, in each case, an animal in need of rescue overcomes their issues and goes on to help people overcome theirs. Dale Preece-Kelly, an Animal Assisted Therapy Practitioner, details his own very personal experiences - and how he was rescued by his animals - describing how the creatures he has rescued have become first class therapy animals. Featuring a unique range of species, some never previously used in a therapeutic environment, this book demonstrates how each species brings its own benefits to a therapy session. With a foreword from respected Animal Geographer Dr Daniel Allen, who has long supported Dale's work, the book also answers many questions posed by those interested in working within the field of animal assisted therapy, including: How do you select a therapy animal? How do you 'train' a therapy animal? What are the benefits of working with different animals? How do the benefits of each species differ?

Our history with pets goes a long way back. While it may not always be the happiest of tales, one thing is clear— we need one another. In a story that has gone from adversarial to one of function, we now have come to view animals as healers. They do more than feed us and serve us; they help us grow socially, emotionally and spiritually. In this new Special Edition from TIME, we explore the many ways in which animals enrich our lives.

Animals and Your Health covers many topics including emotional–support animals, which are popping up everywhere, and increasingly come in all shapes, sizes, and species to the science of animal healing—how do animals boost our health and happiness, and how do you measure the results? How do animals help connect us to other people, and help extend and enhance the lives of the elderly? They have been proven to help ease PTSD in the lives of suffering soldiers and veterans—what special qualities do they have that facilitate this? Readers will also delve into what every dog and cat owner wonders on an almost daily basis about their pet: "What are you thinking?" Covering animal friendships, animals in pop culture and so much more, Animals and Your Health will bring understanding to our long–standing relationship with the creatures that we share the planet with.