From the New York Times:

Anecdotes about the benefits of companion animals abound, but there has been little research to date to document the effects of service or therapy animals on human health.

Now the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is embarking on an effort to study whether these animals can improve childrens’ well-being. The research was jump-started by a $2 million grant from the Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition in England, part of the Mars candy and pet food company.

People working with animals expect the research to back up their observations that animals improve the lives of people with chronic illness and disabilities. Family members of children with autism say animals can improve behavior, communication and socialization. Said one mother, “it’s almost like a cloud has been lifted.”

(New York Times photo)

See also:

Dog helps keep diabetic teen alive and well — [Tacoma, WA] News Tribune

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 10:49 am and is filed under research news, service animal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.