angel on a leash

The Angel on a Leash is a charity that has trained Therapy Dogs that work in health care facilities, schools, rehabilitation and hospice, extended care, correctional facilities and crisis intervention. The charity is there for people who need a lift of spirit in life and health. [1] Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Improving Lives 3 The Differences 4 Therapy Dogs 5 Referances 6 External links //

History

The Angel on a Leash Charity was an activity that was founded in 2004 by the Westminster Kennel Club. In 2007, the charity was approved as an independent 501(c)(3) charity. Once the program became independent, there were thirty therapy dog teams that were approved to be certified as an Angel on a Leash member. When they started the therapy dog teams they had two places that the teams visited which were Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and the Ronald McDonald House of New York City. Over time they grew and now visit many places throughout the country. The health care places they now visit include: Providence Health Care Center in Portland, OR, New Alternatives for Children in New York City, New Milford Hospital in Connecticut, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, Memorial Sloan Kettering Carter Center in New York City, and the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In the future the Angel on a Leash program is planning on to work with other facilities. [2]

Improving Lives

Throughout time, people have found that pets significantly improve people’s health and the quality of their life. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison Children's Hospital, scientists proved that children become happier when they receive time to play with dogs. The quality of life becomes much better for the children. A woman named Rebecca Johnson studied the way humans feel when touching a pet. Human release a beneficial hormone, which releases stress from the body and puts you into a calm mood. Also, children who had pets in their home when they were growing up found that they have less common allergies then of people who don’t grow up with dogs or cats. There are many other studies that were proven by people, this includes, Dogs improve children’s reading scores, Dogs beneficial in speech-language therapy, Dogs are good for mental health, Pets lower blood pressure, pets also help people keep moving, pets help people survive heart attacks, pets help blunt pain, senior citizens who have dogs seem to have less doctor appoints, etc. Overall, pets seem to help out human in many ways by having them enjoy their lives even more. [3]

The Differences

The charity Angel on a Leash differs from different charities in many other ways. The Therapy dogs and volunteered owners are very highly trained before going into a setting such as a hospice with very sick people. Every facility there is a certain type of trained dog to that specific type of setting. As the program