Animals: Man's True Best Friends
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- Date Submitted: 05/10/2010 05:37 PM
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Animals:
Man’s True Best Friend
My first real pet, that I was actually in charge of, was a rat. Jack was a reward for my hard work in my junior year of high school from my mother, and I had him for about a year. Jack had brown and white fur, and was always very sweet whenever I came to greet him. Having him taught me responsibility. I then understood that loving something as simple as a furry companion was life enriching. Animals are a soothing, and understanding companion to people of all ages. From having therapeutic affects, to teaching responsibility and providing endless entertainment, animals have always played a positive role in people’s lives.
A dog’s trainability and intellect make them perfect friends to us. They have been used for pet therapy in schools to help children who are not proficient in math and reading by means of animal interaction. R.E.A.D. is an organization that allows dogs and children of insufficient reading levels to interact (Jolango, 2004, p. 1). Jolango (2004) chronicles about the thirteen month period, and the fifteen students who participated in the program, all of whom were below their grade level in reading, were teamed up with a dog companion for twenty minutes once a week (p. 2). Most children in the program improved by two to four reading levels (Jolango, 2004, p. 2). Jalongo (2004) states that children in the “presence of a calm, attentive dog… moderates the stress responses more than the presence of an adult and even more than the presence of a supportive friend when…reading aloud (p. 1).” Dogs promote relaxation, in terms of decreased blood pressure and increases in skin temperature (Velde, 2005, p. 2). Dogs have also been trained to help the needs of humans in Animal-Assisted therapies and can be used as guide animals, hearing animals, and service dogs. A dog’s unquestioning loyalty makes him a great buddy to any human.
Humans keep pets to satisfy the natural need of living organisms interacting with other living...
Man’s True Best Friend
My first real pet, that I was actually in charge of, was a rat. Jack was a reward for my hard work in my junior year of high school from my mother, and I had him for about a year. Jack had brown and white fur, and was always very sweet whenever I came to greet him. Having him taught me responsibility. I then understood that loving something as simple as a furry companion was life enriching. Animals are a soothing, and understanding companion to people of all ages. From having therapeutic affects, to teaching responsibility and providing endless entertainment, animals have always played a positive role in people’s lives.
A dog’s trainability and intellect make them perfect friends to us. They have been used for pet therapy in schools to help children who are not proficient in math and reading by means of animal interaction. R.E.A.D. is an organization that allows dogs and children of insufficient reading levels to interact (Jolango, 2004, p. 1). Jolango (2004) chronicles about the thirteen month period, and the fifteen students who participated in the program, all of whom were below their grade level in reading, were teamed up with a dog companion for twenty minutes once a week (p. 2). Most children in the program improved by two to four reading levels (Jolango, 2004, p. 2). Jalongo (2004) states that children in the “presence of a calm, attentive dog… moderates the stress responses more than the presence of an adult and even more than the presence of a supportive friend when…reading aloud (p. 1).” Dogs promote relaxation, in terms of decreased blood pressure and increases in skin temperature (Velde, 2005, p. 2). Dogs have also been trained to help the needs of humans in Animal-Assisted therapies and can be used as guide animals, hearing animals, and service dogs. A dog’s unquestioning loyalty makes him a great buddy to any human.
Humans keep pets to satisfy the natural need of living organisms interacting with other living...