Pet Animal Dementia Essay

In the United States, 5.3 million people are living with Alzheimer’s and nearly 44 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s or dementia related disease, according to alzheimers.net (2016). As the disease progresses dementia patients become increasingly confused. Many forget who they are including losing most memories they once shared with their loved ones. In addition, as the disease progresses many individuals become depressed, anxious and agitated in dementia patients because of feeling lost and uneasy in their environment. However, they can feel a sense of comfort by having a pet in their presence. Although pets are unable respond they can talk to and pet the animal. This alone can significantly help the dementia patient with their anxiety
As a matter of fact, it is not only dogs and cats but also birds and fish, just to name a few, have been helping dementia patients that struggle daily with depression and anxiety to help them live a normal life and get the most out of life. People might ask the question, what can animals do for us as humans? The benefits of owning a pet are copious by assisting us in our mental, physical and social well-being. “Researchers have long suggested that pets are good for us, even offering health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and heart rate, reducing the stress hormone cortisol, and boosting levels of the feel-good hormone, serotonin” (Napoletan, 2016). Let’s look at a few types of pets as examples. These fun and caring four-legged pets display a true illustration of what it means to be loyal not to mention they have captured the hearts of humans for years. If you were to walk into a long-term care facility you might find a cat or two gracefully roaming the halls or peacefully
Dementia patients feel a sense of calm and safety while these loving animals are in their presence. Therapy pets have demonstrated an increase in calmness, happiness and overall emotional well-being. Studies have shown a decrease in both stress levels and blood pressure of patients during visits by therapy pets. Not only do cats and dogs provide comfort but more importantly they encourage patients living with dementia to stay active and become more social with others. Depending on how far advanced and what stage they are in, caring for these pets offers them something to keep them busy. Of course, very different from a living pet which needs to be fed and cared for, dementia patients also enjoy the toy stuffed animals as well. While working at several nursing home facilities I have ran across many animals that are animal-assisted therapy pets. When selecting a pet for an individual with dementia there a few imperative things to keep in mind and questions to ask beforehand. Is the person able to care for the pet if living partially alone?