ANIMAL-THERAPY

Arthur Schopenhauer PhD  German Philosopher (1841 book – On the Basis of Morality) 
“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character,
and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”

The joy and privilege of 40 years combining both
counseling-psychology for humans (individuals, couples, families, group conflict mediation)
along with the rescue-rehabilitation of animals (orphaned, injured, abused),
has revealed amazing truths about the vital connection
between humans, sentient animals, and nature.
And now finally, modern scientific research supports these important findings.

Since I’ve just started rebuilding this “ANIMAL-THERAPY” webpage from scratch, I’ll be adding many new elements about this fun and fascinating subject. So, keep returning from time to time to see more photos & videos of our 100’s of personal animals friends – wild, exotic, and domestic (past, present, future). In addition, I’ll be including new links to amazing discoveries about the depth and breadth of animal emotions, intelligence, and capacity for healing human hearts that have been hurt by other humans.
(see my PDF Recommended Resources, on the Resources webpage for a section on animal-related books, etc.)

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SERVICE-DOG, THERAPY-DOG, & EMOTIONAL-SUPPORT DOG?
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/service-working-therapy-emotional-support-dogs/

WHAT IS AAT – ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY (AAI – Animal Assisted Interventions)?
– AVMA (An overview article from the American Veterinary Medical Association)
– Simran Myadas, Counselor LPC, Healing with Paws: The Emotional Benefits of Therapy Dogs
* Simran is among our favorite new Texas friends, and one of the most compassionate people we know.

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New Animal Focused
Writings coming from Sid
(see ABOUT page for more)

(A New Short Booklet coming) AMAZING ANIMAL-SOULS WE’VE SERVED, KNOWN, & LOVE: Who Have Helped Heal 100’s of Hearts Through Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) – including my own!

– including lions, tigers, bears, wolves, hyenas, … elephants, dogs, otters, raccoons, owls, ducks, & many more ….
– to me they were friends: Bratar, Rani, Akela, Rakshi, Banu, Byomi, Jean, Panya, Bartley, Scotty, Ollie, Panya, …..
– each of these animal friends were personal therapists to me from childhood, throughout adulthood, and now ….

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(A New Long Booklet coming) JESUS AND ANIMAL COMPASSION: His Teaching on Animal Emotion & Intelligence Should Convict Us All Over the Ways We Humans Support the Use & Abuse of Them for Our Own Convenience & Pleasure

This “booklet” is about the many animals mentioned in the Bible, along with the numerous nature-animal metaphors, parables, and stories. The particular stories, parables, and metaphors directly involving Jesus’s personal life and teaching will serve as the foundation and spring-board in the booklet for a look at what the whole Bible has to say about sentient (nephesh) animals. When I was in seminary completing my master’s degree and working on a PhD (not completed – see my ABOUT webpage), my papers caused many of my professors to express surprise about how much Jesus and the Bible said about animals and our relational responsibility to them. Even though the professors were respected experts in the Bible, ancient languages, and ANE culture, their personal interest of study had not been “animals”. So, they told me they had simply overlooked the depth and breadth of rich knowledge regarding animals there was throughout the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. In fact, in many ways this subject of animals (sentient, thinking, feeling creatures) is foundational to a Judeo-Christian cosmological, philosophical, and theological worldview.

CAPTIVE “WILD-EXOTIC” ANIMALS?
Some negative things you may have heard about “wild” animals in captivity are only sometimes correct, depending on the place, the purpose, and the people involved. So, be careful to do fair and balanced research. Many animals in captivity were rescued and rehabilitated but are disabled and cannot be released. Others are endangered species that are being preserved through captive conservation programs. And many who have been accustomed to human contact cannot survive if abandoned into the “wild”.

The most positive fact is that many animals in modern, compassionate zoological facilities have the best of lives. They have companionship from both other animals and humans who care for them as they would their own beloved pet dogs or cats. In humane zoos, animals are protected from poachers, predators, pecking order bullying, drought, and other forms of “wild” suffering. Plus, they provide wonderful education for new generations of youth about compassion, conservation, and global stewardship.

Above are the past three service-dogs I trained to work with me in counseling (from left to right):
SCOTTY (passed) – SUZY (passed) – BUDDY (currently serving)

BELOW is Linda, my wife, learning about human-owl bonding.
The Elephant photo is my old conservation zoo friend PANYA providing AAT for my students in the elephant barn.

I’ll be adding many more articles, photos, videos, and links soon . . . .