Although therapy animals are often used to assist blind and disabled individuals, it has also become very common to enlist therapy animals to help treat patients with Alzheimer's or other memory loss disorders.
Because many Alzheimer's and dementia patients struggle with social interaction and experience many negative symptoms such as irritability, depression, and feelings of isolation and loneliness, therapy animals are often the perfect companions to stimulate physical and mental activity.
Dogs in particular have proven to reduce stress and increase pleasure by their mere presence. Many Alzheimer's patients who would otherwise respond to little or nothing else in their environment, respond positively to the gentle presence of a therapy dog. These dogs also provide Alzheimer's patients with a natural topic of conversation, as many feel great anxiety during social interaction.
Therapy animals, however, require extensive training and their personality must be suited to the traits necessary in a therapy animal; they should be friendly, comfortable with strangers, calm and therefore not easily startled or distracted.
Read more: Pets and Dementia
Please can you give me details for aquiring one and the cost. Thank you