Helping the People And Animals We Serve
BENEFITS OF HEALING PAAWS
Many elderly residents in elder care facilities live for the day our animals come to see them.
Animal-assisted therapy provides unconditional love, acceptance, comfort, and companionship to individuals who miss their own pets. Petting an animal sets off a chemical chain reaction in the brain. lowering levels of cortisol and increasing production of the feel-good hormone serotonin. The result: heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels drop. Over the long-term, pet and human interactions can help lower cholesterol levels, fight depression and may even help protect against heart disease and stroke.
The PAAWS program provides weekly visits to area elder care facilities in our community. Each visit includes several animals including cats, dogs and rabbits, and in some instances we are invited to bring our other farm animals.
On special occasions, Kopper Top may be invited to bring horses, chickens, and goats to visits. Along with nursing home facilities. the animals also visit schools, day care centers. churches. and festivals, spreading their love through wagging tails, contented purrs, and just being friends with some of the people who need a friend the most.
Animal-assisted therapy involves taking the animals into different facilities, situations, and circumstances, and meeting many types of people from various backgrounds, with differing abilities.
Our therapy animals are specially trained, and are accustomed to many situations and experiences that a regular household pet would not accept. Our animals are gentle and loving.
During each visit and therapy session, the animals show unconditional love to children, seniors and the handicapped. Their cute tricks and antics bring smiles to otherwise sad faces, and their love fulfills many lives with JOY.
