Role of veterinarians in the senior citizen-animal bond.
As a result of increasing experience with the human-animal bond phenomenon, it is clear that senior citizens can gain much quality of life from such a bond whether it be a permanent and continuing one, resulting from the ownership of an animal, or even periodic, resulting from visitations. Dogs, and other animals, properly selected and trained, can be satisfactory pets for institutional visitation work. Voluntary work is increasingly being performed by people with pets suitable for being brought into custodial places. Evidently, the human-animal bond does much to ignite a spark of interest in people who are confined and who have lost many interests. It can stimulate the interest of elderly people who have lost various outlets for themselves in life due to the contemporary ways of institutionalizing the aged. Input of veterinarians is a significant requirement in these developments.
Fraser
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AF