Much like service animals, therapy animals also help their owners by offering a plethora of benefits. While a service animal may help an owner with physical or mental health issues, a therapy animal will visit the patient for a predetermined length of time with the hope of making the patient more emotionally stable. At assisted living in Saint Petersburg, Florida, therapy animals can provide a range of benefits designed to make lives easier for residents.
Pain and Healing
At an advanced age, the body naturally takes longer to heal from conditions and complications. Even in the best living conditions, chronic pain presents an unavoidable obstacle to residents of Saint Petersburg assisted living facilities. Pet therapy is a way to ease the physical discomfort associated with pain. Much of this healing comes from the feeling of affection residents get when holding a pet. The pleasant feeling derived from pet therapy can go a long way toward making senior citizens feel less uncomfortable.
Therapy Animals and Compassion
For senior citizens without family and friends, therapy animals present the opportunity for these residents to experience compassion, affection, and camaraderie. One needs only to imagine the feeling of having a loving pet in their apartment or living space to understand that having a joyful animal in their presence can reduce any sadness that comes from leaving home. Being with therapy animals is an excellent way for older residents to still feel and display sincerity and compassion, regardless of how often they receive visitors.
Older adults can comfort themselves through the fun associated with pet therapy. For adults suffering from homesickness, therapy animals can smooth over the transition into assisted living in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Regardless of what older adults may be going through, they can find peace knowing that a therapy animal is arriving for a visit. In Saint Petersburg assisted living facilities, comfort and joy may only be as far away as the next pet therapy session.
