Growing research has been published in the Psychiatric Times and Journal of American Medical Association about the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy, which has been used to treat patients with depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder (ADD), dissociative disorders and substance abuse disorders.

Research and best treatment practices show that including animal assisted therapy into treatment programs can help those struggling with emotional and personal lives, particularly when so many other situations in life have become so complicated. What is it about the bonds that humans and animals have that sometimes allows an animal to make a connection when no other person can? How are these animals able to reach someone, like a suffering and emotionally shut off person with addiction disorder? The answer seems to be the unconditional and non-judging love that sometimes only an animal can provide. Animals don’t care what you look like, how much you weigh, what you’ve done in your past, or what job you have. They just allow you to be you, who you are in the moment and love you regardless of how you feel about yourself.