As dog owners, we experience the companionship of our pets every day. Their unconditional love and loyalty seemingly to hold no bounds is our reward for caring after them providing food, shelter, and reciprocal love. More so in the past yet still today, the working dog tends our sheep, keep our barns rodent free, and offer us protection from harm.

The resume of today’s working dog includes yet another reward, help for my human companions through therapy called service dogs. Leader dogs for the blind have been the eyes for thousands of people for many years. This act of awareness by us humans has sparked the study and use of today’s working dog to provide a long list of services.

Dogs are used to help people with epilepsy by alerting owners of a pending seizure, they seem to sense when we are about to have a heart attack and just seem to know we are ill before we do. They make great teachers as children learn responsibility and what is necessary to care for a dog; essential attributes for our kids.

Nursing homes, hospitals, and rehab centers use dogs to pride comfort and lift the human spirit. Nothing brings a smile to a face faster than being greeted by a happy dog eager to be petted. dogs can provide a sense of calm and focus to autistic kids. Hospital emergency rooms have also used dogs because of the calming effect they have on the patients.

Having a companion dog is good medicine and just what the doctor ordered for our physical and emotional health. For all age groups, caring for a dog can reduce the feelings of loneliness and isolation and provide a sense of purpose and contentment. It is a known fact that happier people seldom suffer from stress and depression.

This reduced stress helps us to lower our blood pressure therefore lesson our risk of heart attack. The care we provide for our dogs; walking, grooming and playing improves our circulation and gives us some needed exercise.

Whether your eight or eighty caring for a dog can offer you purpose; a sense of encouragement and wellbeing even a reason to live. While owning a puppy is wonderful, you may want to consider adopting an older dog. Older dogs are generally housebroken and calmer than the nonstop energy of a puppy with unpredictable behavior.

Those of us who are already dog owners know the endless joy we feel when we think of our dogs, the stories you hear told are proof of the companionship we experience. If you would like to experience this feeling or know someone who could benefit from a therapy dog, visit Therapy dogs United for more information.

By Remarkable dogs